Seven planets are aligned in the night sky This week, creating a short opportunity to see the “planetary parade”.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus could be visible with a clear sky, but not all can be seen with the naked eye, according to data Space.com and other websites that accompany the celestial events.
For the best chance, viewers should look at the sky as soon as the sun goes down. Then the planets will appear briefly.
Which day will be best dependent on the location. Tokyo started seeing the parade first, February 22, according to Star WalkSky to extinguish the sky. New York will have the best view of the event on February 25, said Star Walk. In other parts of the world, the phenomenon will be best visible in early March. In the world, the best day will see the match on February 28.
How to watch a planetary parade
Five planets are visibly naked eye, According to Nas: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Mars will appear reddish and high in the sky, near the Gemini constellation, Star Walk said. Jupiter will be a little lower in the sky, near the bull. Venus will appear as the brightest planets in the sky, near the constellation of fish.
Mercury will be in Constellation aquarius, near the sun and just above the western horizon. Saturn will also be near the sun and low in the horizon, making it more difficult to notice, Star Walk said.
Nemes Laszlo/Science Photo Library
To see Uranus and Neptune, you will need a telescope, Nasa said. Uranus will appear in the ram constellation, and Neptune will be in fish, said Star Walk.
The screen will only be visible for a few minutes after sunset, as the planets near the horizon – Saturn and Mercury – will be set up. Once they fall under the horizon, they will no longer be visible, but the rest of the planets will keep in the night sky.
For the best view, head to a place with minimal light pollution and a clear horizon display. The clear sky will also be necessary to see all the planets.
How do planetary alignments work?
The planets in the solar system orbits the sun, just as the Earth does. Each planet orbit at different speeds and distances.
During these alignments, the planets seem to be lined up from Earth’s perspective, creating a visual account, Nasa said. In reality, planets are extremely far away from each other.
The planets are also moving very slowly, causing a multi -day lane of planetary parades.
NASA / Getty Pictures
When will the next planetary alignment be?
Four or five planets are occurring every few years, according to NASA. At the end of August 2025, four planets will be visible before sunrise, and at the end of October 2028. Five planets will be visible at once before sunrise. Another five-planets will be stored in late February 2034, and the planets are visible after sunset.
“In short, even though they are not in their lives once, planetary parades provide an unusual opportunity to look at and appreciate our place in our solar system, with different worlds that spread out in heaven before our eyes,” NASA says on its website.
Outside of planetary alignment, it is possible to see other planets individually. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are often seen in the night sky, NASA states.
