Exact date all seven planets align for uncommon celestial occasion and the right way to see it
On February 28 all seven of the other planets in the Solar System will appear in the night sky at the same time in a row. And there will be an early treat on January 21
Stargazers are in for an astronomical delight as a very rare celestial event is set to light up the night skies in the coming weeks.
People often talk about special things occurring when the planets align, well now it’s actually going to happen. On the evening of February 28 stargazers will witness the breathtaking event as all seven other planets of our Solar System make a simultaneous appearance, aligning spectacularly right before our eyes; Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will line up in a striking sequence. And on January 21, a prelude featuring six out of the seven planets will unfold across the sky, giving us a taste of the grand alignment yet to come.
Planet-line-ups don’t happen every day, especially with most or all of the celestial bodies finding themselves on one side of the Sun. Seven-planet alignments are particularly unique and spectacular cosmic occurrences.
The actual arrangement might not be the orderly queue you’d see in Solar System diagrams, but the planets will indeed seem to gather along an invisible line across the sky.
For the best shot at catching this planetary parade, there are handy tools available to ensure you’re gazing in just the right direction.
Time and Date offers an interactive tool that lets you select the date you want to view, displaying the rise and set times for each planet, their location in the sky, and how challenging they will be to spot.
Stellarium also provides a similar web tool that displays the positions of all the planets.
Sky Tonight is a free mobile app that utilises your phone’s hardware to determine your location, and shows you real-time positions of celestial objects on a map of the sky above.
To see the planets in all their splendour, you’ll need some binoculars or a telescope, so if you haven’t already, start planning now. Obviously, having a clear sky is key to seeing all the aforementioned.
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