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Did you miss the June 3 planet parade, when six planets were in the sky? You’ll get a second chance. This August, stargazers will once again have the chance to see six planets in the sky at once. These events, known as planetary alignments or planet parades, aren’t as rare as some other astrological happenings. But 2024 brought a total solar eclipse, Aurora Borealis, and June’s six-planet parade, so it’s been a good year for amateur astronomers.
The best time to see the planets on display is the morning of August 24, when Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will be visible to the naked eye. Neptune and Uranus will be visible for most of the night, but will require binoculars or a high-powered telescope for viewing. The planets will be fairly spread out, so you may have to turn your head quite a bit to see them all. Saturn will appear first, followed by Neptune. Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will appear over the horizon as the night progresses. Finally, Mercury will appear over the horizon at about 5:45 a.m., about 30 minutes before sunrise.
An image from the astronomy app Stellarium shows what the night sky looks like during the planet parade.
Like last time, the best viewing spot for people in the U.S. will be in the New York State region on the morning of August 24 between 5:45 a.m. ET and sunrise, which is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. ET. Once the sun rises above the horizon, the planets will become less visible until daylight blocks them out completely.
The rest of the world will also have the opportunity to see the parade. According to the Star Walk AppYou can watch the parade on the following dates in the following regions:
- Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, August 23
- Athens and Tokyo, August 24
- Berlin, London and Reykjavik, August 26
- Mexico, August 28
- São Paulo and Sydney, August 30
This is the third such event to take place in 2024. There was a parade during the total solar eclipse, although a few planets may have been difficult to spot. The second occurred during the week of June 3, and people could actually see four planets with the naked eye. Uranus and Neptune were also visible just before sunrise, but only with the help of binoculars or a telescope.
Will my region experience the planetary parade?
Almost certainly. Unlike last time, this planet parade will be visible across most of the US. We tested locations in California, Texas, Ohio, Florida, Washington State, and New York State using Stellarium website and found that in every location we tested, all six planets will be visible for at least a few minutes. Residents of Florida and California will have the smallest window we saw, with Mercury appearing just a few minutes before sunrise.
To find out how good the viewing will be where you live, you can Stellarium website or the Sky Tonight app (on iOS And Android). Simply enter your location into one of the tools and set the date for the morning of August 24 between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. When the planets are above the horizon line, you will be able to see them all.
I recommend using both Stellarium and Sky Tonight, as they offer different vantage points. Stellarium is better at seeing how visible the planets will be from Earth, while Sky Tonight is better at showing where the planets are regardless of visibility. Between the two, you should be able to find them all.
Do I need any special equipment?
Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye from almost anywhere the alignment is visible. Since Neptune and Uranus are farther away, you’ll need binoculars or a high-powered telescope to find them. Mercury is a toss-up. It follows a similar path to the Sun, and its proximity can make it difficult to see without some form of magnification.
This is typical of larger planetary alignments. In general, planets farther from Earth are harder to see without aid, and planets close to the Sun have the disadvantage of the Sun’s brightness partially blocking the view. The June 2024 planetary alignment technically included Venus, but that planet was so close to the Sun that observation was impossible.
There are other considerations as well. The weather can ruin your good time if it’s cloudy that day, while larger cities can produce too much light pollution to see much. For best results, you’ll want to head out into the boonies where the sky is much more visible.
What are planetary alignments?
Planetary alignments — commonly known as planetary parades — describe the phenomenon of multiple planets being visible in the night sky at the same time. The two terms are largely interchangeable, although “planetary alignment” is the official terminology for this type of event. NASA and other space agencies also refer to it as a conjunctionConjunctions describe when planets are particularly close together in the night sky.
According to Star Walk, there are multiple classifications for planetary alignments. A mini-planetary alignment includes three planets, a minor alignment has four, a major has five or six, and the granddaddy of them all, a major or full alignment, would mean all the planets are visible.
There is another type of alignment, and that is one where all the planets in the solar system are mostly on the same side of the sun, including the Earth. It is not a perfect alignment because the planets orbit on their own plane, but the planets come pretty close. The last such instance occurred in 949 AD.
When is the next planetary alignment?
Mini and minor planetary alignments occur fairly consistently. The larger ones are rarer. Here are the dates of upcoming alignments of five or more planets:
- January 18, 2025
- February 28, 2025
- August 29, 2025
The dates in January and August are major alignments with six planets each. In February 2025, all seven other planets in the solar system will be visible in the night sky, an event that does not happen very often.
