A rare alignment of seven planets will be visible on the last day of February. Don't miss this spectacular celestial event!
Seven planets will align in the night sky on the last day of February in what is known as a planetary parade, according to specialized websites and astronomers, reports UNN.
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“A planetary parade is a moment when several planets can be seen in the sky at the same time,” said Dr. Greg Brown, an astronomer from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, in an interview with PA Media. “How impressive the parade will be depends on how many planets are involved and how visible they are.”
“Friday, February 28, is a special date when seven planets can be seen in the sky—if the night is clear,” said David Armstrong, a physics lecturer at the University of Warwick in the UK, to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
This week, all seven planets are technically visible in the sky at the same time, although not all are equally easy to spot.
“Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn are very close to the horizon early in the evening, and particularly in the case of Neptune and Saturn, they will be hard to see at dusk,” noted Brown. Additionally, Uranus, like Neptune, is very dim, making it nearly impossible to detect without binoculars or a telescope.
“Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, however, are very easy to see with the naked eye,” Brown pointed out.
According to NASA, a parade of four or five planets visible to the naked eye occurs every few years.
The next parade of seven planets is not expected until 2040.
“This 'great alignment of planets' will not happen again until 2040, as it requires all the planets to be on one side of the Sun,” Armstrong noted.