The following directions/timings are for pretty much anywhere in Southern England and Wales, but if you’re viewing from anywhere else, a very good site to check when and where to look at the sky is www.heavens-above.com

Here you can choose your location from their database and view the Whole Sky Chart at your specified future time to confirm what you can see.

In Southern England, with a clear sky, looking dead East just before sunrise when the sky is still dark blue (this morning in Southern England that was around 5.40 to 6.15am), the very bright planet, the brightest thing in the sky, is Venus.  Look below and slightly to the left of her and you will see two much fainter planets.  They’re easier to spot because at that time of the morning there are no stars visible that close to the horizon.  The higher and fainter of the two is Saturn.  The lower and brighter of the two is Mercury.

To summarise:  Look East and low.  The brightest point of light in the sky is Venus.  Lower left of Venus is faint but visible Saturn, and close below that is the slightly brighter Mercury.  The darker the sky, the better the view but note that they’re not all ‘risen’, i.e. visible above the horizon, until around 5.30am.

 
If you want to make it a quartet, then look high in the Southeast.  If you can identify the Gemini stars (Castor & Pollux) then below those is Mars.  An alternative view finder is to draw an almost straight line through the bottom right and top left bright stars of Orion, which will lead you to Mars.

 
As the next few days pass, Saturn rises towards Venus and Mercury falls back towards the Sun (the horizon).  By the 13th Oct, Venus and Saturn will be side by side, with Mercury below and left.

 
I’m holding out for a clear morning on 16th October.  Then you will see a slim crescent Moon, with, to the left, Saturn slightly higher, Venus slightly lower, and Mercury lower still.  Should be a really magical sight.

You just don’t get enough of these conjunctions in a lifetime, so enjoy it over the next few days if you can.

If you’re interested in reading any of my other articles, you can find them at:  https://www.triond.com/users/Aldrin+A+Wilding+West

Thanks for reading.