On the night of February 28, astronomy lovers will have the chance to witness a planetary parade, where multiple planets will appear aligned in the night sky. This event, best viewed after dusk, offers a unique opportunity for astronomy enthusiasts and casual stargazers alike.
“A planetary parade is an alignment of the planets in our solar system, where when you look up in a single night, those planets will form a nearly straight line. They’re not near each other physically, but visually, they appear along a straight line,” said Physics Teacher Phillip Becker.
Viewing the Alignment
The best way to see the planetary parade is by finding a location far from city lights. Light pollution from urban areas can obscure the view, making it difficult to see fainter planets like Mercury and Neptune.
“As is the case with all astronomical events, I would go to a place that’s as far away from major light sources as possible. The darker it is, the greater the chance of seeing most of the planets,” said Becker.
Planetary parades occur due to the varying orbital speeds of planets around the Sun. Each planet orbits at a different speed, and only occasionally do their positions align so that multiple planets are visible from Earth at the same time.
“To be as concise as possible, there’s nothing magical about the alignment from a scientific standpoint. It really comes down to a concept in math called the least common multiple, which determines when planets will align based on their orbital periods,” said Becker.
This event will be best viewed between 7 PM and 10 PM on February 28. Bright planets like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will be visible to the naked eye, while Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune may require a telescope or binoculars.
“You’re probably gonna need binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune and Uranus. Definitely have a telescope handy if you want to see all of them. Otherwise, if you just want to look at a few, you can still see the brighter ones without much trouble,” said Astronomy Club President Sanjay Ravishankar.
A Learning Experience
Beyond just a stunning visual experience, events like these have the potential to inspire curiosity about space and astronomy. Space related events spark intrigue and curiosity into what really is beyond our planet.
“I think events like this will probably bring a lot of people who weren’t really interested in space or star gazing into that field. They’ll see a rare event and start exploring the wonders of the sky, realizing there’s so much more than they thought,” said Ravishankar.
