Since January 21, 2025, a rare planetary alignment has been visible. The astronomy event consists of six planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. You will need a telescope to see Uranus and Neptune.
On February 3rd, a crescent moon will become visible for the audience. It will be appearing between Uranus and Venus. The moon will pass by Jupiter and Mars, making them less visible. Shortly after, Mercury will be joining its fellow planets. This will bring the total to seven planets visible.
You will be able to see the planets until the end of February, but the best time to see them will be the week of January 29th, 2025!
From the northern hemisphere, the event can be seen best at 8:30 PM local time. Venus, Saturn and Neptune will be seen around midnight. Mercury’s short appearance will be seen best right around sunset. However, the planet might be a bit hard to see because it is very close to the glare of the sun.
Since the planets orbit the sun on a similar plane, they often look like they are lining up. However, we usually cannot see all of the planets at the same time because they all orbit at different speeds. On occasion, they do line up on the same side of the sun, which would be this year. Although they may appear to be close together, they are really far apart in space.
It is common to see two or three planets lined up together in the sky but a chance to see seven lined up at once is very rare. It may be a good idea to find a location away from bright lights such as cities to see them.
Note to reader: This article was posted on 1/28/25.
Citations:
Dolasia, Kavi. “A Spectacular Planetary Parade Is Happening Right Now!.” DOGOnews, DOGO Media, Inc., 27 Jan. 2025, Web. 28 Jan. 2025.
