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Get ready for a parade of planets, backyard astronomers: a celestial event in which the planets align themselves in a line across the sky. The next one is scheduled for June 3; If you happen to be in the right place that night, you can see up to six planets.
With the unaided eye, viewers will be able to see Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. Neptune, which is close to Saturn, and Uranus, which is close to Mercury, can also be seen by anyone with powerful binoculars or binoculars.
This was the second planet parade of the year. The final occurred during the 2024 solar eclipse. Although the planets Mars and Saturn were slightly difficult to see, those who were near totality saw Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars throughout the eclipse.
For Americans looking to catch a glimpse of the lineup, the best location will be in New York State between 5:26 a.m. and 5:26 a.m. on June 3. There isn’t much time left, especially if you want to set up a telescope to see all six planets.
At different times, different locations around the Eastern Seaboard could witness at least some of the procession. For example, shortly before dawn, at six in the morning, viewers in Florida can see Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Mercury. The same four will be seen in Ohio at 5:40 am. You’ll only see some planets if you’re in a different region of the country, but we’ll see how to verify where you are. below
Venus will also be present, but will be invisible due to its proximity to the Sun. For about a week, a procession of six planets will be seen every morning. Mercury will eventually come very close to the Sun to be visible and the already barely visible planets will simply be too far away. Jupiter, Mars and Saturn will remain visible in the early morning sky for weeks.
Other areas will see celestial phenomenon for a few days. It will be seen in Sydney, Australia on May 28 and in Tokyo and Athens on June 2. Between May 28 and June 6, those living elsewhere in the world will have the opportunity to see part of the procession.
The rest of the world has more options, although they are spaced apart. Star Walk says that several regions will get to see the six-planet parade. They include:
- São Paulo: May 27
- Sydney: May 28
- Mexico: May 29
- Abu Dhabi: May 30
- Hong Kong: May 30
- Athens and Tokyo: June 2
- New York: June 3
Will my area see the planetary parade?
It seems that people on the East Coast, especially New York State, will have more opportunity to witness this than people in other parts of the country. You can use various Internet programs to look at the night sky and find planets. The Stellarium website and the Sky Tonight app (available for iOS and Android) are two of the things we used to confirm the facts in this post.
You can enter your current location using either app, set the time anytime between June 3rd and June 7th, and then adjust the time anytime between sunset and sunrise. Stellarium predicts the shape of the sky, but the Sky Tonight app shows the positions of the planets regardless of how visible they are from Earth.
Therefore, we recommend using the Sky Tonight app to find the positions of all six planets, and then use Stellarium to determine how visible each planet will be at different times from your current location on Earth. With the help of these two tools, you can determine exactly when the dates in your region are suitable for viewing the planet parade.
Will I need any special equipment?
The four planets Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Mercury will be visible to the eyes of people in favorable positions. You will need binoculars or very powerful binoculars to see Neptune and Uranus. Due to the sun’s distance from Earth and brighter skies, they will be more difficult to see overall and will require additional equipment to view.
Major alignments usually look like this. All the planets are present, but without some kind of help, they are not all clear. Some people have succeeded in taking photos using the camera lens. But if you want high detail, the process is not easy and you’ll need special filters
Even if you can’t see the entire procession from where you are, you’ll see three or four planets in most places, which is still an amazing sight. Of course, in cloudy weather and if you live in a densely populated area, city lights can obstruct your view.
Is a planetary parade the same as a planetary alignment?
The phenomenon of simultaneous alignment of the planets in the night sky is known as a “planetary parade”. Although this phenomenon does not have an official title in astronomy, NASA calls it a “parade of the planets,” so it is common.
On the other hand, planetary alignment has two meanings. The most popular one is known as the “Planetary Parade” and shows the planets clearly aligned in the night sky. The number of planets in an alignment can range from three to all, however different sources have different definitions for minor, major and grand alignments. Three planets often form a subtle alignment, four planets form a minor alignment, and five to seven planets form an alignment.
An alternative meaning of planetary alignment refers to the exact moment when the planets line up in orbit and is more literal. This is significantly less common and rarely occurs. According to this interpretation, a full planetary alignment did not occur until 949 and would not occur again until May 6, 2492. Visual alignment will occur in the near future. Although they may not be in orbital alignment, the planets will still be visible from Earth.
The fact that NASA and astronomers refer to observations of multiple planets in the night sky as conjunctions only complicates matters further. One such event took place in the first week of April in 2022, when the conjunction of Venus, Mars and Saturn was observed.
When is the next planetary parade after this one?
Parades of smaller planets often occur. In most regions of the world, it is not difficult to see three or four planets at the same time at different times of the year. When there are five or more planets, unusual things happen.
There are a total of five such events that will occur through the end of 2025:
- June 3, 2024
- Aug. 28, 2024
- Jan. 18, 2025
- Feb. 28, 2025
- Aug. 29, 2025
On February 28, 2025, all seven other planets in our solar system will be visible at the same time, although you’ll need binoculars to see some of them. This makes this day very remarkable.
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