Another astronomical event is expected next month!
In the early morning hours of Monday, June 3, six of the eight planets — Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will be present in the sky at once, in an event known as a planetary alignment or planetary parade, according to the astronomy app Star Walk.
According to the app, “Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen with the naked eye, but you’ll need a telescope or high-powered binoculars to see Neptune and Uranus.”
The app added that the alignment may not be limited to one day and that the planets may be spotted a few days before or after June 3.
According to USA Today, the planetary alignment — also called the “parade of the planets” — will be visible across much of the northern hemisphere, depending on the weather.
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2024 Planetary Alignment Graphic.
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In the description, Star Walk states that such an alignment occurs “when planets cluster close to one side of the Sun at the same time, as seen above the Solar System,” or “when planets appear close together in a small sector of the sky, as seen from Earth.”
Planets cannot actually be in a straight line in space despite appearing to be, because their orbits are not in the same plane.
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According to the app, “When the Earth is one of the planets gathered on one side of the Sun, it appears to the observer that several planets are lined up in the sky,” and the post adds “the smaller the sector,” the more amazing the alignment will be.
For anyone planning to see more alignments in the future, the site states that the six planets will be seen again on August 28 and January 18, 2025.
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Stock photo of stargazing.
Getty
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On February 28, 2025, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will align, marking the next time humans will be able to see seven planets visible in the sky at once, by location.
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn will also align on August 29, 2025, the app added, noting that the last time all the planets were visibly aligned was during a total solar eclipse in the US, Canada and Mexico on the 8th. April 2024
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The latest astronomical event comes after the aurora borealis (also known as the aurora borealis) lit up the skies over areas in the UK, Europe and the Northern Hemisphere earlier this month.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education