Rare parade of seven planets to be seen on the last day of February
Kyiv • UNN
Seven planets of the Solar System will appear simultaneously in the night sky on February 28. Venus, Jupiter, and Mars will be visible to the naked eye, while the rest of the planets will require a telescope.
Seven planets will line up in the night sky on the last day of February in the so-called parade of planets, according to specialized websites and astronomers, UNN reports.
Details
"A parade of planets is a moment when several planets are visible in the sky at the same time," Dr. Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, told PA Media. - "How impressive the parade will be depends on how many planets are in it and how visible they are.
"Friday, February 28, is a special date when seven planets are visible in the sky - if the night is clear," Associate Professor of Physics David Armstrong of the University of Warwick in the UK told BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
This week, all seven planets are technically visible in the sky at the same time, although they are not all equally easy to spot.
"Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn are very close to the horizon in the early evening and, especially in the case of Neptune and Saturn, will be difficult to see at dusk," Brown said. Additionally, Uranus, like Neptune, is very dim, making it nearly impossible to spot without binoculars or a telescope.
"Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, however, are very easy to see with the naked eye," Brown pointed out.
According to NASA, a parade of four or five planets visible to the naked eye occurs every few years.
The next parade of seven planets is expected in 2040.
"This 'great alignment of the planets' will not happen again until 2040, because it requires all the planets to be on the same side of the Sun," Armstrong said.
