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37m ago

Six-Planet ‘Parade’ Peaks Saturday, Feb. 28 as Viewing Window Narrows

A brief post-sunset window offers the best chance to see the grouping before Mercury, Saturn and Neptune sink into twilight.

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A planetary alignment, or a “planet parade” see eight planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Solar System planets. High resolution images. This image elements furnished by NASA. ______ Url(s): https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/?IDNumber=PIA23344 https://images.nasa.gov/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002130 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13840 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia01492 https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/17549/saturn-mosaic-ian-regan https://images.nasa.gov/details-PIA22946 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00271 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23170
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Overview

  • NASA and multiple outlets confirm Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will share the evening sky, with Uranus and Neptune requiring binoculars or a telescope.
  • Look 30–60 minutes after sunset toward a clear western horizon; Venus will be bright but brief, and Jupiter remains the easiest, most reliable target.
  • Late-week updates report the formation is fading, with Mercury largely lost in glare, Saturn dropping fast, and Neptune effectively out of view in many locations.
  • The display is a line-of-sight effect along the ecliptic rather than a true straight-line alignment of planets in space.
  • Peak viewing is Feb. 28 (March 1 in some regions), though clouds and light pollution may limit what’s visible, and a total lunar eclipse follows early March 3.