Six-Planet Alignment to Light Up Night Sky in Rare Celestial Event
Hyderabad, Feb. 28: Skywatchers across the world will have a rare opportunity this weekend as six planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus — align in a curved formation visible in the night sky, astronomers have announced.
The rare planetary alignment will be visible for several days, although Neptune and Uranus may require binoculars or a telescope to observe due to their faint appearance.
To mark the occasion, NASA released new astronomical sonifications using data from its Chandra X-ray Observatory, converting observations of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus into sound.
Dr Megan Argo, an astrophysicist at the University of Lancashire, said such alignments occur because of the varying orbital speeds of planets around the Sun.
“We’re seeing this alignment because the planets’ orbits have brought them into roughly the same area of the sky from our perspective on Earth,” she explained. “While spotting four or five planets at once is fairly common, seeing six together is much rarer.”
According to astronomers, the best time to observe the phenomenon is shortly after sunset in areas with a clear western horizon. Venus will be the brightest and easiest to spot, while Mercury will appear fainter near the horizon. Jupiter will be visible higher in the sky, and Uranus will appear faint below a star cluster known as the Seven Sisters.
Dr Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, said the alignment will be visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres, although the orientation may appear reversed depending on the observer’s location.
Experts also noted that the Moon will be visible near the planets over the coming days, making the event even more spectacular for observers.
Astronomers emphasized that such full planetary alignments are uncommon, with the next similar event not expected until 2040.