Jan 21, 2025
From 21 January to 28 February 2025, an impressive astrological phenomenon will be visible with the naked eye from Earth: a grand parade of planets. After sunset, six planets will line up in the sky: Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune will be visible without additional equipment, and Venus and Saturn will be visible with a telescope or binoculars..
The ideal time for observing begins on 29 January during the new moon (the Moon will be between the Earth and the Sun) and will last for one week. When the Moon is in shadow, all objects are more visible..
To facilitate your search, use the constellations as a guide. Mars will be located in Gemini, Jupiter in Taurus, Uranus in Aries, Neptune in Pisces, Saturn and Venus in Aquarius..
On 28 February, observers will be able to see an even rarer event: a parade of seven planets. On this day, Mercury will join the planets mentioned above..
Planetary parades in 2025:
21 January - parade of 6 planets at night (Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn) is expected;
28 February - evening parade of 7 planets (Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars);
15 April - morning parade of 4 planets (Neptune, Mercury, Saturn and Venus);
11 August - morning parade of 6 planets (Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn); and.
A planetary parade is an astronomical phenomenon in which several planets line up fairly close to each other and almost in a row when viewed from Earth. In the scientific community it is customary to call this event "the alignment of the planets". However, the unofficial term "parade of planets" is also actively used by major space agencies, such as NASA..
Alignments occur because the planets orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane, but at different speeds and along their own orbital paths. For example, Jupiter takes 12 years to complete a full orbit around the Sun, while Mars takes about two years. Therefore, the planets are often far from each other, but sometimes end up in the same part of their orbital path..
Types of planetary parades:
Astronomers distinguish several types of alignments depending on the number of planets involved. These include:
mini-alignment - of 3 planets;
moderate alignment - 4-5 planets;
grand alignment - 6-7 planets;
full alignment - 8 planets.