Science!

Seven planets will appear to align in the night sky on the last day of February in what is known as a planetary parade.

These planetary hangouts happen when several planets appear to line up in the night sky at once.

“A planetary parade is a moment when multiple planets are visible in the sky at the same time,” said Dr Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told PA Media. “How impressive a parade it is will depend on how many planets are in it and how visible they are.”

This week, all seven planets are technically visible in the sky at once, though they are not all equally easy to spot.


“Mercury, Neptune and Saturn are all very close to the horizon in the early evening and, particularly in the case of Neptune and Saturn, will struggle to be seen in the twilight,” Brown said. “In addition, Uranus, like Neptune, is very faint, making it almost impossible to find without a pair of binoculars or a telescope.

“Venus, Jupiter and Mars, however, are all very easy to see with the unaided eye.”

A parade of four or five planets visible to the naked eye happens every few years, according to Nasa.

“Groups of three, four or even five planets being visible aren’t uncommon, regularly appearing throughout each year,” Brown said. “But the more planets are involved, the more things need to be aligned to be visible at once. This makes full seven-planet parades fairly rare.”

The seven planets will next align in 2040.…….

https://www.theguardian.com/science...to-see-planets-aligned?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other