How to watch the ‘planetary parade’ of 2026

This weekend, six worlds will line up in a rare “global parade”

By Joseph Howlett edited by Lee Billings

The planets are aligning. This Saturday is a rare opportunity to see several of our closest cosmic neighbors in the same sky. Six planets will come together for a spectacular “planetary parade” that can be seen anywhere in the world, provided there are clear skies.

Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will all be visible to the naked eye for half an hour to an hour around dusk, appearing in that order extending upward from the horizon shortly after sunset. To observe them, astronomers advise going to a high-altitude, cloud-free location, since all visible planets will be relatively low in the western sky. One of the lowest will be Mercury, the smallest planet and a rare view from Earth. Only Mars will escape planetary performance.

Those with a telescope can even see our two most distant celestial companions, Neptune and Uranus. The two “ice giants” will be much darker, but they will also prove themselves on this starlit world stage.

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The planets all sail around the sun in more or less the same plane, because they all formed from the same disk of swirling gas and dust that was left behind when our sun was born. All of their orbits are different, but every few years, chance places them all on roughly the same side of the sun. In 2040, there will even be a night when you can see all seven planets in a single sky.

So, especially if you’re in the Northeast, nature offers you a perfect way to recover from weeks of indoor blizzards. Bundle up, bring a hot drink and head out in the evening to have a front-row seat to witness the spectacular performance of our planetary neighbors.

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