Six planets will be visible in the sky tonight, forming an astronomical alignment known as a “planetary parade,” and you can watch it live online.
Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Venus all meet up together on the same side of the sun in a wide arc above Earth — and most are visible to the naked eye under clear night skies. The Virtual Telescope Project in Italy is offering viewers a chance to catch this mesmerizing planetary alignment during a free webcast today (Jan. 25).
Starting at 12:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) on Saturday (Jan. 25), astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project will stream live telescope views of all six of the planets in marching order. You can watch the livestream courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project directly on their website or YouTube channel.
This week we can observe four of the five naked-eye planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not Mercury) with the added bonus of a young moon, too. In doing so, we will be able to discern the ecliptic: the plane of the solar system, which defines the path in the sky that the sun, moon and planets all follow.
The chart shows a wide swathe of the sky, stretching from the south-east to south-west, as it will appear above London on 31 January at 6.45pm GMT. Starting at the western end of the panorama, a beautifully slender waxing crescent moon will be visible. Just 2.4 days old, only 6.2% of its visible surface will be illuminated.
Brilliant Venus continues to be unmistakable and has now entered Pisces, the fish. In between Venus and the moon, Saturn resides in Aquarius, the water bearer.
The next dot to connect is bright Jupiter. It will be found higher in the sky, in the constellation of Taurus, the bull. Finally, even higher and over in the south-east, situated in the constellation of Gemini, the twins, is the red beacon.
Joining these celestial objects with an imaginary line reveals the ecliptic path, which passes through the zodiacal constellations.
Stargazers will be treated to a dazzling six-planet “alignment” this January.
A planetary alignment, or a “planet parade” according to the internet, will grace our night sky just after dusk, according to EarthSky, a stargazing and astronomical website. We’ll see six planets – Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn – but not all of them will be visible to the naked eye. You’ll need high-powered binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune and Uranus.
It’s not especially remarkable for a few planets to line up in the sky, but the sight of four or five brilliant planets at once is less common, according to NASA. They first aligned this past Tuesday and will align, again, next week on Sunday, Monday and Friday. The best viewing, though, will be at the start of February.
How does the alignment happen?
The planets orbit the sun continuously in the solar system, so at times they slowly catch up to one another. Because they travel along the same path, or ecliptic, as they pass Earth, it appears they are aligned, according to NASA. The alignment formation, however, will be short-lived because each planet moves at different speeds.
Where to look for the planetary alignment
When looking in the southern sky about 90 minutes after sunset, the planetary alignment will be visible almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, weather permitting.
Even if you’re using high-powered binoculars or a telescope, both Uranus and Neptune will be dim, and Neptune will appear star-like. But Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus should be visible to the naked eye.https://e.infogram.com/_/XD1uebBZwhvrpknjtz9F?src=embed#async_embed
Profiles of the visible planets
For this alignment, Mercury will be on the far side of the sun, according to EarthSky. And being so close to the sun, it will be difficult to see.
With eight planets in our solar system, they all have some very interesting traits. Here’s a quick look at the planets aligning on this month
When will the planets align again?
◾ Feb. 28: Seven planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. (The last time all seven planets aligned was on April 8 during the total solar eclipse).
◾ Aug. 29, 2025: Six planets – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
