Ever witnessed a 6-planet parade? This is your golden chance

Space enthusiasts are in for a major treat this month as an amazing planetary alignment, also called 'planet parade', will see six planets lined up in the night sky.

Although planets usually appear in a line from the Earth, the uncommon factor here is seeing so many planets at once, USA Today reported.

Planet parade

In our solar system, the planets orbit the Sun essentially along a line across the sky in a plane. This is called ecliptic, which is the imaginary plane that contains the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Due to this, planets always appear to us along a line.


According to NASA, the ecliptic is the reason why at times it seems to people on Earth that planets are approaching closely to each other, especially in the night sky "while they careen around the cosmic racetrack".

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These alignments are not special, but what attracts the space enthusiasts is that a total of six planets will be visible this month, which include four with the naked eye and two others through a telescope.

Planet parade: What to expect?

In simple terms, planet parade is when the planets in our solar system form a straight line and appear to be marching across the night sky. A similar parade was witnessed in June last year.

This month, four bright planets as well as two faint planets are visible in the night sky.

Among these, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, while Neptune and Uranus can be seen via telescope.

In its January rundown, NASA noted that these multiplanet viewing opportunities are not super rare, but they don’t happen every year, hence it is worth checking it out.

Planet parade: When and where to watch?

Venus and Saturn have already had their close approach, dubbed as a "conjunction", last week.

During most parts of the month, stargazers can see Venus and Saturn in the southwest during the first couple of hours in the night sky. Jupiter is seen shining brightly high overhead, while Mars can be seen rising in the east.

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Uranus and Neptune will also be visible, but only through a telescope.

FAQs

What is a planet parade?
Planet parade, which is not a technical astronomical term, happens when multiple planets can be seen forming a straight line, appearing to be marching across the night sky.

How to watch a planet parade?
People can watch the amazing planetary alignment during the night sky.