Mercury, Mars and Venus to Align in a Way That's
  Not Been Seen for a Century
  12-24-2004 7:57 PM

  DES MOINES, Iowa --  Three planets will align
  over the weekend, giving Iowans a glimpse at
  something they haven't seen for at least 100
  years, astronomy experts said.

  Mercury, Mars and Venus will be able to be seen
  in the southeastern part of the sky before sunrise
  from Saturday through Wednesday, said Michael
  Bakich, associate editor at Astronomy Magazine.

  "Next to the sun and the moon, Venus is the
  brightest in the sky, so it'll be brilliant,"
  he said.

  Mars will be to the upper right of Venus and
  Mercury will be noticeable at its left.

  It's been at least 100 years since the planets
  have aligned this way, Bakich said.

  He speculated that the bright star the Bible
  says wise men followed to Bethlehem to find
  Jesus may have been a similar grouping of
  planets.

  "Nobody really knows what's called the Star
  of Bethlehem was," he said.
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 Information from: The Des Moines Register
 http://www.desmoinesregister.com