Overview
- NASA confirms Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will share the evening sky on February 28, marking the first six-planet parade in more than six months.
- Observers should look low toward the west shortly after sunset for the brief viewing window, with clearer horizons greatly improving the chances of spotting more planets.
- Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or a telescope, while Venus and Jupiter should be easy to see and Mercury and Saturn may be challenging due to their low altitude in bright twilight.
- Astronomers stress the event is a visual alignment along the Sun’s ecliptic with no physical lineup in space or gravitational effects on Earth.
- As a related opportunity tonight, a thin crescent Moon occults Mercury for parts of North America, with close pairings visible more widely after sunset.