The January night sky will show six planets. In the next few days, a unique celestial event will take place in which six planets will align in the night sky and be visible to the unaided eye.
According to NASA, it provides a fantastic experience for space aficionados and stargazers and is called the Planetary Parade.
Skywatchers can see a beautiful planetary assembly of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune without the need for a telescope. Here’s to know about the so-called planetary procession this month.
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Are the planets going to line up in January?
Our solar system’s planets orbit the sun in a plane known as the ecliptic, which is effectively a line drawn across the sky. EarthSky, a website devoted to cosmic news, claims that planets in our Earthly sky always appear somewhere along a line because of this.
Despite their frequent occurrence, these phenomena are frequently called planetary alignments.
According to NASA, the ecliptic is also the cause of planets appearing to approach one another in the sky “while they careen around the cosmic racecourse,” which is why we occasionally see them.
In January, the night sky will show two faint planets and four brilliant planets. The planets listed below are those that will be visible in some of them this month: Venus, Jupiter,
Saturn, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune
In a summary of January skywatching advice, NASA stated, “These multiplanet viewing opportunities aren’t very rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth checking it out.”
How to witness the planetary procession?
On January 21 and 25, you will have the opportunity to witness the planetary parade. Uranus and Neptune will need a telescope, but four planets—Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—will be visible to the unaided eye shortly after the sun sets.
Forty-five minutes after sunset is the greatest time to see the starry display. Mars will show up in the east, Jupiter will take the stage in the southeast, and Venus and Saturn will light up in the southwest.
Venus and Saturn will finally set in the west during the roughly three-hour-long celestial show. Look towards the southern horizon in a dark spot away from city lights for the finest viewing experience.
Of all these planets, Venus will be the brightest and most apparent. Mars’s red hue will make it resemble a brilliant lamp. Jupiter will look like a tiny dot in the southern sky, while Saturn will look like a tiny dot in the western sky.
Because of their separation from the other planets in the alignment, Uranus and Neptune appear as little, bright dots but are invisible to the unaided eye.
The planet that is nearest to the sun, Mercury, will not be included in the celestial lineup. Mercury, however, can be seen joining the planetary procession by the end of February.
What Will Happen to Stargazers Next?
On February 28, all seven of the solar system’s planets—Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn—will be visible at the same time in the night sky.
The optimum time to see the celestial spectacle is between February 28 and March 12, when the planetary alignment will be at its highest.