Tonight You Can Marvel at Six Planets in a Spectacular Planet Parade
The year 2025 begins with a bang for skywatchers, as a parade of planets takes place in the sky tonight, January 21st. Planet Parade is when several planets from the solar system appear in the night sky at the same time. There will be six visible planets this time, including Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
These six planets will be visible in the days leading up to January 21 and for approximately four weeks thereafter. Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible to the naked eye. You’ll need a high-performance observing device, such as a telescope, to spot Neptune and Uranus.
The best time to view the planets from the Northern Hemisphere is around 8:30 pm local time after sunset. After this, you’ll still be able to see Venus, Saturn, and Neptune on the horizon, but depending on your location, all three planets will appear below the horizon between 11:30 p.m. and just before midnight. Afterwards, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus will remain visible for several hours, with Mars eventually setting before sunrise.
unlike previous paradethis will continue to be the case for quite some time due to the planet’s favorable position in the sky. You should be able to see all six planets every night until the last week or so of February.
After that, the Seven Planets Tour will begin, with Mercury briefly joining the other planets in the sky for a few days, turning it into a planet tour of all seven planets in the solar system except Earth. Since Saturn, Mercury, and Neptune will be very close to the Sun at sunset, it will be difficult to see them all, but they will be there.
By the time March begins, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune will have drifted too close to the Sun to be seen, with Venus not far behind, leaving Jupiter, Mars and Uranus to dominate the night sky until the next parade begins.
Will my area see the Parade of the Planets?
Due to its long length and limited planetary motion, this parade of planets should be visible from most, if not all, locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We examined observatories in California, Texas, Ohio, and New York in the United States, as well as observatories in Calgary, Canada, and Mexico City, Mexico. We were able to find all six planets in every location, so no matter how far east, north, west or south you go, you’ll be able to see it.
Generally speaking, the best time to watch the planet parade is after January 21st and before February 21st. The best time to do this is during the week of the new moon on January 29th. (As we explained in this storya new moon is a shadow moon, which makes the moon appear to disappear. ) A shadow moon would reduce light pollution in the sky, making Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn easier to spot.
Read more: Full Moons Explained, From Blue Moons to Super Moons to Moon Phases
You don’t have to wait long for all six planets to appear in the sky. They would be there as soon as the sun went down. After dark, you only have a few hours to view them before Venus, Saturn, and Neptune sink below the horizon at night. This applies regardless of location, so everything happens almost simultaneously no matter where you are.
In the last days of February, Mercury will appear, increasing the parade of planets to seven. Best viewed at sunset and more difficult to view when the sun is still above the horizon.
Is any special equipment required to view the parade?
Technically yes. Under the right conditions, you’ll be able to spot Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and possibly Saturn with the naked eye. However, Neptune and Uranus are too far away to be discovered. Astronomer’s Notes You’ll probably need a telescope with at least an 8-inch aperture and 50x magnification to see Uranus and its rings, and a telescope with 150x magnification to see Neptune and its rings. If you’re equipped, point your telescope at Saturn. After magnifying 25 times, you can see The crown jewel of our solar system In all its glory.
Standard spatial viewing rules apply here as well. You’ll want to stay away from cities, where light pollution can blur your vision. For many, even the suburbs may not be far enough. If you’re planning a long drive out of the city and its surrounding areas, you’ll want to make sure the night is clear with as few clouds as possible.
If you plan to see all seven planets in late February, you’ll have a particularly difficult task, since some of them will be quite close to the sun. you can Want to invest in UV protection for your eyes And be especially careful with where the telescope is pointed.
How to find planets in the sky?
Given that Neptune and Uranus are particularly difficult to find, plus Saturn and Venus are so close to each other, finding all six planets in the sky can be a bit difficult. There are some great tools available for this. Check stellar websitetogether with Night sky map with time and date. These should give you a good idea of ​​where each planet is relative to the other planets. Star Walk 2 is a great app Android and iOS system. The stars have their own Android and iOS App as well as.
What is planet cruise?
parade of planets is a colloquial term This is true when four or more planets align in the night sky at the same time. It’s not an official astronomical term, so you’ll rarely hear astronomers use it. However, NASA is known Call this phenomenon the “Parade of the Planets.”
The official term is planetary alignment, although this terminology tends to cause some confusion. Some interpretations of this phrase include the planets lining up on the same side of the sun, next to each other. The planets can never be perfectly aligned like you see in the picture, but they can all be on the same side of the sun and relatively close to aligning.
However, in everyday use, planet parade and alignment are the same thing and simply describe several planets visible at the same time in the night sky. These planets may be far apart from each other in their orbit around the sun, but are visible from Earth’s perspective.
