MORNING PLANETS: This is a great week to wake up early and look at the planets. They’re all lined up. Daniel Mello sends this pictue from his garden in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

“This is a simple 5 second exposure with my Canon EOS 500D camera (ISO 800),” says Mello. “It was a beauty planetary sequence just before sunrise. The sky colors topped it off!”

The display is about to get even better. Venus and Jupiter are converging for a tight conjunction on Saturday morning, April 30th. They will “appear to nearly collide into each other,” according to NASA. “Due to the glare from both planets, some observers will see them merge into one very bright, spectacular glow!”

Between now and then, the crescent Moon will glide by Venus and Jupiter, forming a lovely triangle on Tuesday morning, April 26th, and especially Wednesday morning, April 27th. Set your alarm for dawn (60 minutes before local sunrise) and enjoy the show. Sky maps: April 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, May 1.