Eye-Catching Planetary Display Wows Some In Idaho Sunday Night

If you happened to be outside your home late in the evening over the weekend and into early Monday morning, you might have noticed some unusually bright lights in the sky.

One of the great advantages to living in states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming is the views of the sky and the lack of light pollution. There aren't a great deal of skyscrapers in this region of the country to interfere with stargazing, and hopefully, it stays that way.

On Sunday, I spent most of the day inside the house, but I was outside until close to midnight on Saturday. Due to the hanging lights and tabletop fire pit we have on most weekends, I didn't focus on the night sky. It turned out to be a shame.

Multiple Planets Visible in Night Sky From South Idaho Over Weekend

Driving into work this morning at about 4:20 A.M., I noticed some unusually bright lights to the east of Twin Falls. At first, it looked like it could have been some SpaceX Starlink Satellites, or maybe even the International Space Station, which is visible from time to time.

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I clicked a few pictures, the first just before 4:30 A.M., and the second as the sun was rising around 6 A.M., and it became obvious they weren't satellites. I used my monocular that I keep in my truck and zoomed in.

READ MORE: Why The Solar System May Cause Volcanic Activity In Idaho And Washington

According to Time and Date.com, multiple planets could be seen clearly in the sky from southern Idaho over the past 48 hours. Both Saturn and Uranus were positioned to the point that they could be seen without the use of telescopes between Sunday evening and Monday morning (August 11).

I'm not sure which one I was looking at in the early morning hours of Monday, but it was incredibly bright.

Did you see the planets in the sky this weekend?