Nearly every single planet will appear in the night sky above the UK on the weekend to do something very British – queue.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will all be visible at the same time from Saturday and Sunday after sunset.
Keen stargazers may have already spotted six of the planets in late January or earlier this month, but Mercury is about to shuffle into view.
This sight is called a planetary parade, Dr David Armstrong, an associate professor in astronomy at the University of Warwick, tells Metro.
The weekend will be one of the few chances to see so many of our cosmic neighbours all at once, something that Dr Armstrong saw last year when Mars was also visible.
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‘To me, the joy is connecting all the abstract knowledge we have of the solar system to something you can see with your own eyes,’ he says.
Why do planetary parades happen?
A planet parade isn’t just for show. Our solar system can be thought of as a really, really wide flat disk, says Dr Armstrong.
About 4.5 billion years ago, our neat and orderly solar system was just a messy cloud of cosmic dust and gas.
Over time, it got so big that it began to spin, flattening it in the same way a pizza maker throws dough. All the planets formed on roughly the same plane during this.
This is why, from our point of view, the planets travel through the same path of sky, called the ecliptic.
‘To see them all at once, we just need to be lucky enough that so many planets are on the same side of the sky at once,’ Dr Armstrong says.
‘A tricky thing as the outer planets take decades or even over a century to orbit the sun.’
Which planets are viewable with the naked eye?
With an unaided eye, you’ll be able to see four worlds marching through the sky.
Saturn, Venus and Jupiter will be difficult to miss, appearing as colourful specks to the naked eye. Especially Venus, which sparkles so brightly it’s often mistaken for stars or satellites.
Mercury will be just to the right of Venus but given it’s on the horizon, it might be tricky to spot in the fading glow of the evening sun.
Neptune and Uranus are too far away to be seen without binoculars or a telescope, Dr Armstrong adds. ‘If you’re looking for Neptune, it will be very close to Saturn.’
Squint hard enough through an observational device, and Dr Armstrong says you might be able to see four of Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings.
If you’re struggling to find Jupiter, crane your neck towards the constellation Gemini. It’ll appear as a steady, whitish dot.
The three stars of Orion’s Belt will be halfway between the other four planets and the gas giant.
Trace the trio of stars upward and you’ll see Uranus just below the Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus.
When is the best time to see the planetary parade?
Most of the world will get a front-row seat for the parade on Saturday. The UK has tickets for the following night, Dr Armstrong says.
Your best bet to see the parade is to find a dark place with a clear view of the western horizon about 30 minutes after sunset.
Many astronomers recommend using mobile apps like Stellarium or Star Walk that let stargazers point their phone cameras at the sky to see what’s there.
Light pollution may hinder what you can see, however. Websites like the aptly named Light pollution map can help you find where it’s darkest.
When is the next planetary parade?
Seeing four of our celestial neighbours with the naked eye happens every few years or so.
You’ll have four other chances of seeing a planetary parade this year. These dates are generally when they’ll be happening, but local dates may vary:
- April 18: Saturn, Mars, Mercury and Neptune.
- June 12: Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.
- August 12: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn and Neptune.
- November 14: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
Yes, they’re not exactly ‘once in a lifetime’ sights, Dr Armstrong admits. But they’re always a good excuse to nip outside to see the wonders of the cosmos.
‘It really brings home that the Earth sits in a wider context of planets around us, and how even the earliest humans would have been able to see these events,’ he adds.
You’ll have to wait a very long time for a planetary parade featuring every single planet at once – May 19, 2161. One for the calendar.
What else is happening in the night sky this year?
A fair few full moons, for one. Some will be supermoons, the largest and brightest full moons of the year:
- March 1: Worm Moon
- April 1: Pink Moon
- May 1: Flower Moon
- May 31: Blue Moon
- June 30: Strawberry Moon
- July 29: Buck Moon
- August 28: Sturgeon Moon
- September 26: Harvest Moon
- October 25: Beaver Moon (supermoon)
- December 23: Cold Moon (supermoon)
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