From until, the cosmos offers an infinity of shows that can be observed, on some occasions, just by looking at the sky. And the parade These days planetarium is no exception. All the other seven planets of the Solar System – Saturno, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars – are this week in sight at the same time on the horizon after the sunset, forming in the sky an imaginary diagonal line.
Being able to observe all the planets at the same time is an opportunity that occurs very rarely and that this time has been viralized with the name of The great alignment. The best time to be able to hunt the seven planets – something only within reach of expert astronomical observers – will be on Friday night, February 28.
Although the planets will not be physically aligned in space, the arrangement of their orbits around the sun means that, from the terrestrial point of view, they seem to be: more or less placed on a curve, which in astronomy is known as the ecliptic. This line marks the plane in which, approximately, all the celestial bodies of our cosmic neighborhood orbit. And therefore, the planets are always aligned in heaven. The special thing is that they all look at the same time.
Known as Planetary parade “A term that is not part of the official astronomical jargon,” this phenomenon occurs due to the different speeds with which the celestial bodies move. On opportunities like this, everyone coincides to the same side of another imaginary line that unites the land and the star King, and within the same area, from our land point of view: that is why they can all be seen at once, and this Friday happens right at dusk. This will not happen again until 2040. The researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, Javier Licandro points out that it is an astronomical phenomenon and at the same time an optical effect. “It is both: seen from Earth it looks like an alignment of seven planets; And it is also the coincidence of the planets in an approximate direction. However, it will be difficult to see them all at the same time, ”explains this astrophysicist.
It is parade It was created in January with the conjunction of Venus and Saturn. Some of the planets have slightly inclined orbits – on top or below the ecliptic plane – but all are more or less at the same level. Nor should this event be confused with the physical alignment of several planets, but refers to an “apparent alignment in our sky of a planet, with other planets, with the moon or with bright stars,”. And although this Friday is the ideal night for experts to take photographs of the seven planets at the same time in the sky, this astronomical coincidence lasts several days. In fact, for César González, scientist and disseminator of the planetarium of Madrid, the best day was last Sunday 23. “That was a good time to contemplate the five planets in the sky [Mercurio, Venus, Marte, Júpiter y Saturno] visible to the naked eye from the earth, ”he says.
Although Venus, Mars, Jupiter are brilliant and easily visible, this Friday the Sun’s Slide on the horizon at the beginning of the night will make the vision of Mercury and Saturn difficult – which are at a low height after the sunset and, a while later, they also hide. This Planetary parade It can only be visualized after sunset. Unfortunately, it is not a good time to see objects with an extremely dim brick, as is the case of Uranus and Neptune, which must be observed with the help of telescopes and in skies as dark as possible.
How to see planetary alignment?
In Spain, the best time to observe this paradewhich happens for several days, will be the dusk of February 28, in sites with clear skies – with a horizon free of trees, mountains and buildings – and far from that of the cities and towns, after seven in the afternoon, peninsular time. After sunset, Venus will begin to be seen on the horizon in the west area, while we will have to wait to see the rest of the planets, because the sky will still be too clear for a while to appreciate its shine.
Saturn will be the first to get under the horizon, at 7:50 p.m. Mercury, Neptune and Venus will follow him. At about one o’clock in the morning of March 1, Jupiter will do and, finally, Mars, almost at six in the morning. Free mobile applications such as, or websites such as, they can help those who want to obtain more information amid the observations. “It is enough that it is a dark site, with a lot of horizon. With security, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will look quite bright, ”adds Licandro.
