Behold the Rare Six Planet Parade

There's a spectacular astronomical event currently underway. It's an arrangement in the sky that people often call a planet parade. It's a rare display of six planets, or seven if you include the one you're on, all on the same side of the sun. Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune are crowded together in the west, while Uranus and Jupiter sit farther to the east. It'll be a challenge to see all of them with the naked eye. Plus, the moon's going to be a very bright waxing gibbous as it heads toward a full moon on March 3rd. That'll make it even harder to spot the outer planets like Uranus and Neptune.

Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and Saturn will be sitting very low in the west, so make sure you get out there early. By the 28th, Venus and Mercury will be dimmer and very low on the horizon. This makes them tough to see, and they'll likely be below the horizon by March 1st. You'll want to find a spot with a clear view of a flat horizon, like an open field or looking out over a lake. While you should be able to see the brightest planets with the naked eye, Neptune will likely be too faint to find without a telescope or binoculars. If you do manage to find it, it'll look like a tiny blue dot.

If you follow the path of the parade along the ecliptic, you might find two more planets depending on how clear and dark your sky is. Uranus is positioned high in the southwest near the Pleiades star cluster, but it'll be very hard to see without optics. Moving toward the constellation Gemini, you'll find a bright, steady, yellow white light. That's Jupiter! It'll be shining brilliantly near the twin stars Castor and Pollux.

If you don't get a chance to see it now, there's another opportunity to catch a six planet parade peaking on August 12th. That alignment will include Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune, and you'll be able to see it in the early morning hours before sunrise. After that, 2027 and 2028 will have 5 planet parades and the next one after that is 2034. That one will be one to witness, when all 7 planets will be in the sky, don't forget to mark it on your calendar!

Upcoming Planet Parades