Another rare ‘planetary parade’ is coming very soon with a seventh planet joining the mix for a spectacular alignment
ANOTHER, even rarer, ‘planet parade’ is set to grace skies very soon.
For one night only, all seven other planets in the Solar System will align in the night sky at the same time.
This month, six planets have been visible in the sky – and will be joined by Mercury in a few weeks’ time.
Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, Saturn and Mercury will be strung across the sky in an arc shape on 28 February.
Although just five planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mercury, will be visible to the naked eye.
Uranus and Neptune are never visible to the naked eye, as they are simply too far away from Earth.
However, with a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, you may be in luck.
It’s not uncommon for a few planets to align – all it requires is for them to be on the same side of the Sun as the Earth.
But it’s quite rare for six planets to align, and even rarer for seven.
Mars, Venus and Jupiter will be easy to spot on 28 February.
Venus will be the brightest in the sky, shining twice as bright as the North Star, Polaris.
It will be followed by Jupiter, glowing only slightly brighter than Polaris.
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will appear as bright-white points of light, like stars.
While Mars will have a distinct orange glow.
What causes the alignment?
Planets are constantly moving, which means their paths occasionally cross into an alignment in Earth's sky.
Dr Dan Brown, an astronomy expert here at Nottingham Trent University, explained to The Sun: “All planets including Earth move in more or less the same plane in our solar system.
“So that from our perspective the planets are always very close to the apparent path of the Sun in the sky also known as the ecliptic.
“This means they will always be along this line.
“You could compare it with cars on a straight road.
“Since they can only drive on the road they will always be found along the road in more or less a line.
“What varies is how close they are to each other and when we can see them.”
Tips to view ‘planet parade’
Head outside early to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark.
This way you’ll be able to see Saturn, which won’t be as bright as Mars, Venus and Jupiter.
While binoculars or telescopes can allow you to see the planets in all their glory, they can also limit the portion of the sky you can see.
The best time to go outside and look will be just after sunset.
Jupiter is scheduled to set at roughly 6:30pm GMT / EST in the UK and the US.
Mercury’s placement will be low on the horizon, meaning it will also set and dip out of visibility at about 7pm GMT / EST.
All you need to know about planets in our solar system
Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all...
- How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet
- How many moons does Mercury have?
- What colour is Venus?
- How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet
- How big is Jupiter?
- How many moons does Saturn have?
- Does Uranus have rings?
- How many moons does Neptune have?
- How big is Pluto?
- How hot is the Sun?