A Rare 'Parade Of Planets' Will Be Visible Soon & Here's How You Can See It From Canada
Mars, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will line up with the moon! 🌙
Night sky with the Milky Way, stars and planets.
Get ready because a rare "parade of planets" in the night sky will be visible from Canada soon!
You'll be able to spot Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Uranus align with the crescent moon in the sky after sunset and there are tips on how to get the best view.
According to Star Walk, planetary alignment is an astronomical term that describes several planets gathering closely on one side of the sun at the same time.
While it's predicted that Tuesday, March 28 is the best day to spot this line of planets in the night sky, you'll still be able to see them for several days before and after Tuesday night.
The Farmers' Almanac is calling this compact planetary alignment a rare celestial event even though the last time five planets lined up in the night sky was in June 2022.
If you want to see this "parade of planets" in Canada, here's what you need to do!
First, you need to look toward the west around 20 minutes after sunset. You'll see five planets and the moon line up from left to right in this order: Mars, the moon, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury.
Venus is the brightest planet in the sky which makes it the easiest to spot and you won't need binoculars, the Farmers' Almanac said.
Once you find Venus, look below it and to the right in the direction of where the sun just set. You'll see Jupiter on the left appearing twice as bright as Mercury which will be on the right.
Then, the Farmers' Almanac said to go back to Venus and use it as a guide for spotting Uranus.
This planet is barely visible to the naked eye even on dark, clear nights so it's best to use binoculars. Uranus will be above Venus and to the left a bit.
It'll look like a faint star that has a pale greenish tint.
Finally, Mars will be easily identifiable in this planetary parade because it'll be giving off a yellow-orange hue above and to the left of the moon.
The Canadian Space Agency has tips for stargazing and seeing planets which include moving away from city lights and finding a clear spot where you can see as close to the horizon as possible.
Also, a way you can tell planets apart from stars is to see if they're twinkling, because planets don't shimmer in the sky like stars do!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.