Planets Align in Rare Celestial Symphony
Look up, New Lifers!
Since January, six planets have aligned in a rare event known as a “planetary parade.” This phenomenon occurs when at least four planets visibly line up in the night sky.
Every day, Venus and Saturn have been setting in the west around three hours after sunset, leaving Mars and Jupiter visible to the naked eye. However, the sun’s glare has blocked Mercury and will continue to do so until the end of February.
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be viewed by the naked eye, but Uranus and Neptune require equipment. “A modest telescope or high-powered binoculars will be needed to view Neptune and Uranus,” advised PAGASA.
Lineups of six to seven planets simultaneously are highly infrequent, with the last planetary alignment of this scale happening almost 43 years ago on March 10, 1982.
The time it takes for planets to complete their orbits varies. For example, Mercury only takes 88 Earth days to orbit around the Sun while Jupiter takes almost 12 Earth years!
As NASA Public Engagement Specialist Preston Dyches once remarked, “...planetary parades afford an uncommon opportunity to look up and appreciate our place in our solar system, with diverse worlds arrayed across the sky before our very eyes.”
References:
https://www.scimag.news/news-en/61386/skywatching-alert-six-planets-align-tonight/
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/17/nx-s1-5265965/mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-alignment-planet-parade
https://starwalk.space/en/news/what-is-planet-parade
https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/astronomy/astronomical-diary
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/years-on-other-planets/en/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/planetary-alignments-and-planet-parades/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76906/why-some-people-thought-world-might-end-march-10-1982