‘Planetary parade’ to be visible in days as six planets align in the sky – exact time you can see dazzling display
MARS, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Venus are set to align in the sky next week in a six-strong ‘planetary parade’.
All the planets in our solar system, except Mercury and Earth, will move into a large arc that just fits into your eye’s field of view.
“That means we can just about see all planets without turning our head with Mars in the left corner of our eye and Saturn with Venus in the right,” Dr Dan Brown, an astronomy expert here at Nottingham Trent University, told The Sun.
While the others will be joined by Uranus and Neptune, these two planets will not – and will never – be visible to the naked eye as they are too far away.
The four visible planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus, will be strung across the evening sky on 18 January where you should be able to see them from 5pm to 9pm local time.
Although, the “best conditions” will be at 6pm, with Mars, Venus, and Saturn roughly 20 degrees above the horizon, according to Dr Brown.
Three planets will be particularly easy to find.
“Mars, Venus and Jupiter will be the brightest objects in the entire sky,” Dr Brown explained.
“Saturn more like the 10th brightest, but still easy to find given its proximity to Venus.”
The planets align every so often as they move in their individual orbits.
In February, another planetary parade is expected to occur, where Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mercury will be in an alignment visible to the naked eye.
Dr Brown said: “Mercury will join the group of visible planets in February and result on 24 February when it passes Saturn in a slightly closer line up of still 117 degrees.”
While 117 degrees is not very close, it “allows us to theoretically see all the planets in the sky at one time,” he added.
What causes the alignment?
Planets are constantly moving, which means their paths occasionally cross into an alignment in Earth's sky, as Dr Brown explains:
“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 ‘planetary parade’
While the best time to view the arrangement on 18 January will be 6pm, it’s best to head outside early to allow your eyes to adjust.
This way you’ll be able to see Saturn, which won’t be as bright as Mars, Venus and Jupiter.
Pick an area with an open view of the sky that is unobstructed by a treeline or buildings.
“Find a good spot that has clear views towards north-east to south-west allowing for good view down to 10-20 degrees,” said Dr Brown.
“Then look for the brightest objects in that large area of the sky.”
There will be no need for cameras or telescopes, as these will only limit the portion of the sky you can see.
“These planets are bright and easy to find as they are the brightest ones around,” Dr Brown reassured.
“What will be nice to capture is Venus and Saturn together using a camera, ideally with a beautiful landmark or landscape feature to frame both of them.”
If you’re struggling to find the planets in the sky, try using a sky map app like Night Sky.
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?