Planetary Parade will soon be visible in the evening sky.
All seven planets will be visible in the evening sky in late February.
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Not just South Mississippi but the whole Solar System is in Mardi Gras spirit!.
Tuesday, February 25 through Friday, February 28, all seven planets may be visible in the evening sky in what is known as a Planetary Parade. According to NASA, while multiple planets in the night sky is fairly common, it is rare to see all seven. This will be a great opportunity to see several planets with the naked eye as the night of February 27 is a New Moon so there will be less moonlight.
How To Spot Planets
Saturn and Mercury will be difficult to spot as they will be dim and very low in the western sky. The best time to spot them will be Thursday immediately after sunset when they will appear to be right next to each other. Both will set shortly after the sun each night, falling below the horizon by around 6:45 p.m.
Venus will be the easiest to spot in the western sky. Venus is a very bright yellow and rests directly above where the sun sets in the evening sky. Venus will remain visible above the horizon until around 8:30 p.m. each night.
Neptune and Uranus will be very difficult to find with the naked eye. With a good telescope or camera, they will show up as small bright blue planets. Neptune can be found low in the western sky between Mercury and Venus, while Uranus will be high in the southwest sky near the Taurus Constellation.
Jupiter will be very high in the southern sky at the top of the Taurus Constellation. Jupiter appears a dim yellow-orange in the night sky and can be seen with the naked eye. With a good telescope, you may be able to spot some of Jupiter’s moons and the Great Red Spot.
Mars, the Red Planet, can be seen by the naked eye as a small but bright red planet high in the eastern sky shortly after sunset. Mars will be in the center of the Gemini Constellation next week.
What is the Difference Between a Parade and an Alignment?
As defined by NASA, the Planetary Parade is not a technical astronomical term while a Planetary Alignment may refer to a few different phenomena. The Parade typically refers to how the planets line up in our night sky here on Earth while an Alignment refers to multiple celestial bodies lining up in a straight line relative to each other. Next week is not a true alignment as you can see in the image; the planets are not aligned in a straight line relative to the sun.
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