Get ready for a “planetary parade.”
A planetary alignment will soon happen, allowing people to see five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus – in the night sky towards the end of March, Star Walk says.
This will be the first planetary alignment since June, when five planets were aligned in a in an event that hadn’t happen in nearly 20 years.
This time, the visible planets will be seen in an arc that may require some extra technology to spot.
“Don’t forget to look to the sky the end of the month for the planetary alignment which will have at least five planets – plus the moon – all visible in almost an arc shape as seen from Earth,” former astronaut Buzz Aldrin tweeted.
When is the planetary alignment?
The planetary alignment will happen the evening of March 28, Star Walk said. It’ll be visible a few days before and after, but March 28 will be the best day for viewing.
How to see the planetary alignment
The best time for viewing will be to face the horizon, or west, after sunset.
Benne Holwerda, an astronomer at the University of Louisville, told the Louisville Courier Journal – part of the USA TODAY Network – a lot of the planets “will be visible with the naked eye or binoculars or small telescope,” and it’s best to step away from street and city lights to see them.
“If you are in a dark and cloudless spot, it is pretty remarkable how well your eyes adapt,” Holwerda said.
Gary Swangin, manager of the Panther Academy Planetarium in Paterson, New Jersey, told the New Jersey Herald – part of the USA TODAY Network – it’ll be easy to see Mars, Venus and Jupiter in the sky, but it may require binoculars or a telescope to see Mercury and Uranus.
Future planetary alignments
If you are unable to spot this planetary alignment, you won’t have to wait long to see five planets do it again. Star Walk says Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn will appear in alignment in the morning of June 17.
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Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.