Another rare ‘planetary parade’ is coming very soon with a seventh planet joining the mix for a spectacular alignment
Another rare ‘planetary parade’ is coming very soon with a seventh planet joining the mix for a spectacular alignment
Share:
ANOTHER, even rarer, 'planet parade' is set to grace skies very soon. For one night only, all seven other planets in the Solar System will align in the night sky at the same time. This month, six planets have been visible in the sky - and will be joined by Mercury in a few weeks' time.
![[Illustration of planetary parade showing Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, and the Moon in the night sky.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ac-27_01-planetary-parade-graphic.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, Saturn and Mercury will be strung across the sky in an arc shape on 28 February. Although just five planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mercury, will be visible to the naked eye. Uranus and Neptune are never visible to the naked eye, as they are simply too far away from Earth.
However, with a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, you may be in luck. It's not uncommon for a few planets to align - all it requires is for them to be on the same side of the Sun as the Earth. But it's quite rare for six planets to align, and even rarer for seven.
Mars, Venus and Jupiter will be easy to spot on 28 February. Venus will be the brightest in the sky, shining twice as bright as the North Star, Polaris. It will be followed by Jupiter, glowing only slightly brighter than Polaris. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will appear as bright-white points of light, like stars.
While Mars will have a distinct orange glow. Planets are constantly moving, which means their paths occasionally cross into an alignment in Earth's sky. Dr Dan Brown, an astronomy expert here at Nottingham Trent University, explained to The Sun: "All planets including Earth move in more or less the same plane in our solar system.
