Six planets — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will seem in a darkish evening sky collectively for nearly per week, starting Sunday, Aug. 17. The pretty uncommon “planetary parade,” which is typically mistakenly referred to as a planetary alignment, will proceed by means of Wednesday, Aug. 20.
The celestial gathering, final seen in February, will seem within the japanese sky about an hour earlier than dawn. Though most of those planets have been seen within the morning sky for weeks, Mercury will be part of the fray, bringing the planet rely from 5 to 6.
Below clear skies, it is best to have the ability to spot Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Mercury will likely be nearer to the horizon however nonetheless shiny sufficient to be seen by most observers. Nevertheless, Uranus (showing between Jupiter and Saturn within the sky) and Neptune (near Saturn within the sky) are too dim and distant to be seen with the bare eye. The one option to see these two ice giants is through the use of a good telescope.
Though it is comparatively uncommon for six planets to look within the sky concurrently, the fantastic thing about the view will likely be vastly elevated by the waning crescent moon.
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On Aug. 17 and Aug. 18, a crescent moon will rise above Jupiter and Venus. The 2 brightest planets within the evening sky are actually slowly transferring aside after an extremely shut conjunction on Aug. 12.
Mercury could also be seen under Jupiter and Venus, however will probably be simpler to see it on Aug. 19. On that morning, and on Aug. 20, a slim crescent moon will likely be very near Jupiter and Venus — a visible spotlight of the “planetary parade.”
By round Aug. 21, Mercury will start to fall again into the solar’s glare and can develop into tougher to see.
In response to the Star Stroll app, there will likely be two six-planet parades in 2026: one after sundown in February and one other earlier than dawn in August.
