Three Planets Were Visible from the Summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington

The views from the summit of Mount Washington are amazing on a normal day as it is. You can literally see four different states from the summit on a clear day -- New Hampshire (obviously), Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts. There are even rumors that part of New York comes into view on a super clear day, too.

But on a day where a special event is occurring, the amazingness of the summit is multiplied.

The annual solar eclipse was visible back in June

During the first week of June this past summer, New England was treated to an annular solar eclipse. Obviously, it was viewable from ground level, but reports later on that same day from employees of the Mount Washington Observatory and the Mount Washington Auto Road were that the views from 6,288 feet above sea level were indescribable. A group of staffers had traveled up the Auto Road in the early morning hours and had a unique view of the eclipse from the summit.

Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and the Earth's Moon were all visible from the summit

The summit was a prime view for another astronomical treat earlier this week, as once the sunset on Wednesday evening and before the summit fog moved in, one-third of the solar system was clearly visible as Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus (along with the moon, per usual) made an appearance in the sky. Pictures were captured from the top of the Mount Washington Observatory instrument tower.

And as you can see, the view from the summit and the visibility of the planets are identical to the way they appear in computer software that the Observatory used for comparison purposes.

Not that we needed another reason to appreciate the absolute beauty that Mount Washington not only is itself, but also provides, but the universe delivered another anyway.