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Planetary Alignment Commemorated In Silver Coin Perth - May 5, 2000 - Today eight of the celestial bodies in our solar system - the Earth, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - will fall into notional alignment. To mark this event, The Perth Mint in Western Australia has issued a spectacular Planetary Alignment 10oz coin, made from 99.9% fine silver, with a coloured central design and a proof-like finish. The coin was launched officially on Thursday, 27 April at the Western Australian Museum in conjunction with Australia's National Science Week. Speaking at the launch, Perth Observatory Director, Dr James Biggs, said that some sort of planetary grouping occurred about every 10 years. "But on average, only about every 75 years do you get a relatively close grouping of all of the visible planets that spans 30 degrees or less across the sky, such as the groupings on 5 May," he said. The launch also highlighted the Museum's stunning new Diamonds to Dinosaurs exhibition which features the birth of the Solar System. In addition, the Museum is currently hosting the Ancient Lives: Greeks, Romans, & Etruscans exhibit, which includes many classical artworks featuring the gods and goddesses displayed on the new Planetary Alignment 10oz coin. An impressive 75.5mm in diameter, the coin is visually stunning. The central design features a coloured image of the six planets and the sun in alignment surrounded by the names of the planets and their astrological glyphs, or symbols. An outer ring features seven panels depicting the archetypal ancient Roman and Greek gods and goddesses after which the planets were named: Tellus (Earth), the Roman goddess of fertile soil; Helios (Sun), the Greek sun-god; Hermes (Mercury), the Greek messenger of the gods; Venus, the Roman goddess of love; Mars, the Roman god of war; Zeus (Jupiter), the king of the Greek gods and ruler of Olympus; and Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture. The obverse design of the coin features an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The coin is minted by The Perth Mint under the authority of the Government of the Cook Islands. Mintage is limited to 5,000 worldwide. The Planetary Alignment coin, valued at $295.00, is available from The Perth Mint or by calling 1800 353 756 (within Australia).
SPACE SCIENCE
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