After sunset on March 28, 2023, there will be a rare and stunning event visible in the sky. Five of the solar system’s most prominent planets, including Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus, will be aligned in an arc formation with the moon. This will be a rare occurrence. This astronomical occurrence is going to be one of the rarest of its kind.
In most cases, the planetary alignment takes place whenever a number of planets get quite close to one another on the same side of the sun at the same moment. When compared to simple planetary conjunctions, alignments that include all of the same planets are thought to be far less common. Because it includes Uranus, the seventh planet in the solar system and one of the planets in the solar system that is the most difficult to view from Earth, this configuration is extremely uncommon.
According to rumors in the media, people would be able to view it with their bare eyes. Venus is likely to be one of the brightest planets out of all the others, which means that it will be visible to the human eye even without any aid. On that day, Jupitar is also likely to be shining brightly. Uranus and Mercury would be considerably obscured to the human eye if we tried to look at them directly. Mars will be very high in the sky, making it unlikely that we will be able to view it with unaided vision.
When and where can they be seen? Humans will be able to see all five planets in the sky at the same time a few days before and after this event. Nevertheless, according to the experts, they will need to make use of a pair of binoculars in order to see this extraordinary and unusual planetary configuration in the sky properly. When all five stars are aligned in the sky at the same time, there will be an intriguing astronomical event to watch.
Tuesday is the day that offers the highest chance of seeing the entire ensemble. After the sun has set, astronomer Bill Cooke from NASA recommends that you focus your attention on the western horizon.
The planets will be visible from the horizon all the way up to around the middle of the night sky. Mercury and Jupiter will quickly disappear below the horizon about a half an hour after sunset, so be sure you don’t run late.
The five-planet spread can be viewed from any location on Earth so long as the sky is clear and there is a view to the west.
“That’s the wonderful thing about these planetary alignments,” she said. Cooke remarked that it did not need much effort.
Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars will all be visible in the night sky during the month of March thanks to a rare alignment of five planets that will take place during this time.
According to NASA scientist Bill Cooke, who spoke with SSV News about the next planetary alignment, it will take place on March 28 and will make the night sky look “quite gorgeous.”
Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars are going to be visible in the night sky close to a crescent Moon that is getting bigger. It is possible that you won’t be able to see it no matter where you are in the world, despite the fact that it should be visible from every region of the globe. You will need to move around until you can obtain a clear view of the horizon if you want the best chance of seeing the planets in the night sky.
“Wait until the sun has set and then go out and look low in that brilliant part of the sky where the sun has just set using binoculars,” Rick Fienberg, senior contributing editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, said in an interview with NPR. “You should see brighter Jupiter next to fainter Mercury.”
According to Fienberg, Venus will be relatively easy to identify because it will be relatively high in the sky. However, Uranus, which will be located close to Venus, will be difficult to spot and will only be visible via the use of binoculars. When Mars is close to the Moon, its brilliance will be enhanced.
Even though this event is not a true planetary alignment in which the planets will appear to be lined up in a row, it will nonetheless allow people to view five different planets in the sky simultaneously.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all lined up in the sky at the same time in June of the previous year, creating a real-life planetary alignment. That was the first time in the preceding eighteen years that had truly aligned, and such an event will not actually occur again for another forty years. The occurrence that occurred in June was remarkable for more than one reason. The five planets were aligned in the same order as their respective distances from the Sun.