Rare planetary parade to illuminate night sky next week

Earth's planetary neighbors will align in a spectacular display known as a planetary parade on August 28, according to the space-tracking website StarWalk.

Stargazers can expect to see Saturn in the late evening near the constellation Aquarius, followed by Neptune close to Pisces. Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will then appear around Taurus, while Mercury will be visible near Leo by dawn.

Mercury will be observable to the naked eye but will quickly fade as the Sun rises, so early risers will have the best view.

Planetary alignments happen when planets are seen gathered closely on one side of the Sun at the same time. It won’t appear perfectly straight when the spheres align, as the planets appear to be moving along the elliptic, or the sun’s path, when viewed from Earth.

This parade will be considered a large planetary alignment, as it will be made up of six planets. Large alignments are five to six, while small alignments are made of four planets, three planets make up mini alignments and great alignments involve all planets in the solar system.

For spotting Uranus and Neptune, high-power binoculars are necessary to get a good view of the last two planets in the solar system (sorry Pluto).

But among all the stars, how does one spot these planets? Mars and Jupiter are unique given one has a reddish hue and the other’s massive size reflects more light, according to EarthSky.

“The other planets, however, are a little fainter,” according to StarWalk. “One of the differences is that the planets, unlike the stars, don’t twinkle. And if you observe the night sky throughout the year, you’ll notice that the planets ‘visit’ different constellations while the stars stay in ‘fixed’ positions relative to each other.”

Like with more night sky displays, going to a nearby area with as little light pollution as possible is the best way to see the alignment. As recommended by Go Astronomy, dark places to get a prime view of the night sky include Petersham State Forest, Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest, Wachusett Mountain State Reservation and Mohawk Trail State Forest.

After Wednesday, the next planetary alignment won’t come to pass until Jan. 18, 2025, when Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Venus are expected to appear together. Another planetary parade is on track to commence over a month later, and a third is expected on Aug. 29, 2025, all according to StarWalk.

News.Az