Did you miss it? June 3rd Planet ParadeWhen six planets line up in the sky? Here comes your second chance. In August, skywatchers will once again have the opportunity to see six planets in the sky at the same time. These events, known as planetary alignments or planetary parades, are not as rare as other astrological events. But in 2024, Total Solar Eclipse, Aurora And in June Parade of Six PlanetsSo it’s been a good year for backyard astronomy lovers.
The peak of the planetary parade will be the morning of August 24, when Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will be visible to the naked eye. Neptune and Uranus will be visible throughout the night, but you’ll need good binoculars or a telescope to observe them. The planets are spread out over a fairly large area, so you may need to turn your head quite a bit to see them all. Saturn will appear first, followed by Neptune. As the night progresses, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will pop up over the horizon. Finally, Mercury will pop up over the horizon at around 5:45 AM, about 30 minutes before sunrise.
Image from Astronomy App Stellarium This shows the night sky during the planet parade.
As with last time, the best viewing location for Americans will be the New York state area between 5:45 a.m. ET and sunrise at 6:15 a.m. ET on August 24. As the sun rises above the horizon, the planet will become less visible and will not be visible until it is completely blocked by sunlight.
People from all over the world also have the opportunity to watch the parade. Star Walk AppYou can watch the parade in the following locations on the following dates:
- Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, August 23
- Athens and Tokyo, August 24
- Berlin, London, Reykjavik, August 26th
- Mexico, August 28
- São Paulo and Sydney, August 30
This will be the third event to be held in 2024. Total Solar EclipseHowever, some planets may have been difficult to find. June 3 In fact, people could see up to four planets with the naked eye, with Uranus and Neptune also visible before dawn, but only with the aid of binoculars or a telescope.
Will there be a planetary parade in my area?
It’s almost certain. Unlike last time, this planet parade will be seen across almost the entire United States. We will be in California, Texas, Ohio, Florida, Washington state, New York, Stellarium Website And we found that all six planets will be visible for at least a few minutes in every location we surveyed, with Florida and California residents seeing Mercury make an appearance just a few minutes before sunrise in the shortest window we observed.
To find out how good the ratings are in your area, Stellarium Website Or use the Sky Tonight app ( iOS and Android). Just enter your location in either tool and set the date to any time between 5:30 and 6 a.m. on August 24. If the planets are above the horizon, you’ll be able to see them all.
We recommend using both Stellarium and Sky Tonight, as they each offer different perspectives – Stellarium is great for seeing how visible the planets are from Earth, and Sky Tonight is great for showing planet locations regardless of visibility – so using the two should allow you to find all the planets.
Do I need any special equipment?
Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn are visible to the naked eye wherever they line up. Neptune and Uranus are so far away that you’ll need good binoculars or a telescope to find them. Which one will you see, Mercury? It follows a similar orbit to the Sun, and is so close that it may be hard to see without some kind of magnifying glass.
This is a common phenomenon in larger planetary alignments. Generally, planets farther from Earth are harder to see without assistance, while planets closer to the Sun are partially obscured by the Sun’s brightness. The June 2024 alignment technically included Venus, but it was too close to the Sun to be visible.
There are other things to consider: if it’s a cloudy day, the weather may get in the way of your fun. Also, in big cities, there may be so much light pollution that you can barely see anything. For best results, it’s better to drive to the countryside where you have a better view of the sky.
What are planetary configurations?
A planetary alignment (colloquially known as a planet parade) refers to the phenomenon where multiple planets are visible in the night sky at the same time. The two terms are almost interchangeable, but “planetary alignment” is the official term for this type of event. NASA and other space agencies also call it a “planetary alignment.” As a conjunctionA conjunction occurs when the planets are especially close together in the night sky.
According to Star Walk, there are several classifications of planetary alignments: mini-alignments contain three planets, small alignments contain four planets, big alignments contain five or six planets, and the highest of them all, great or full alignments, means that all planets are visible.
There is another alignment where all the planets in the solar system, including Earth, are roughly in a line on the same side of the sun. They don’t line up perfectly because the planets orbit in their own planes, but they are pretty close together. The last time this happened was in 949 A.D..
When is the next planetary alignment?
Alignments of small and minor planets occur fairly frequently, but larger ones are rare. Here are the dates when alignments of 5 or more planets are scheduled to begin:
- January 18, 2025
- February 28, 2025
- August 29, 2025
January and August are the big days when all six planets will be aligned. In February 2025, all seven other planets in the solar system will be visible in the night sky, an event that rarely occurs.
