Six planets due to parade across night sky in rare celestial spectacle | Astronomy

Six planets are expected to parade across the sky this weekend in a rare celestial spectacle, experts say.

Over the next few days, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at the same time in the night sky – although binoculars or a telescope will be needed to spot the latter two planets.

To celebrate the event, NASA has released new sonifications, astronomical data from its Chandra X-ray observatory translated into sound, for Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.

Dr Megan Argo, reader in astrophysics at the University of Lancashire, said seeing so many planets in the sky at the same time is a rare phenomenon.

“We see this alignment now because the planets’ orbits have brought them into roughly the same area of ​​the sky from our perspective on Earth. Since each planet orbits the sun at a different speed, they are constantly changing position against a backdrop of stars. Only occasionally do their paths align in a way that brings several together in our night sky,” she said.

“While it’s fairly common to spot four or five planets at the same time, seeing six is ​​much rarer. All seven were visible together last year, but the next full alignment won’t happen again until 2040.”

Argo added that on February 28, and for a few days on either side, all six planets will be visible, but Mercury will be harder to spot midweek, although Jupiter and Venus will be easily visible for months.

Argo said those hoping to catch a glimpse of the planetary parade should go out in the early evening local time – 5:45 p.m. in the UK and 6 p.m. in the US – and find a spot with a clear view to the west – preferably on top of a hill with a clear view.

The planets will appear in a curved line in the sky. In the northern hemisphere, Jupiter will be visible high in the southeast, while Mercury, Saturn, Neptune and Venus will appear in a near-horizon cluster in the western sky.

Venus will be the brightest of the group with Mercury much fainter, to its right, and Saturn and Neptune a little above.

Argo said Uranus would be faint, sitting below the group of stars known as the Seven Sisters, adding that a stargazing app on your phone can help you find the planet.

While a pair of binoculars would also be helpful, Argo said it’s important to never look at the sun with binoculars or a telescope, as this could cause permanent eye damage.

Dr Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, said the event would also be visible in the southern hemisphere and would have a similar pattern, although the parade would appear reversed compared to the northern hemisphere.

“In Australia, Jupiter will be visible to the north and Uranus will be visible to the northwest, just above the Seven Sisters,” Argo said.

“In Australia, the Sun sets a little later at the moment, so after 6:45 p.m. local time is when to get outside. However, Mercury is so close to the horizon at sunset that it’s unlikely to be visible in Australia, and Venus will set at 7:15 p.m., so you’ll need to be quick to catch it.”

She added: “We also have the Moon in the mix tonight and over the next few days. So we’re getting a lot of the solar system visible.”