Just before dawn from May 31 to June 3, a parade of six planets from our solar system will come into alignment — but only a lucky few will be able to spot all six.
The orbits of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will enter into something like a morning procession.
But, for most of the world, as NASA astrophysicist Ronald Gamble of the Goddard Space Flight Center put it, ‘The sun’s going to be photobombing the parade.’
Many who brave the early morning hours, however, will get to see Mars and Saturn accompany a crisp crescent moon — and astronomers said that a much more visible and impressive alignment will be coming on January 31, 2025 shortly after 6pm.
Just before dawn from May 31 to June 3, a parade of six planets from our solar system will come into alignment – but only a lucky few will be able to spot all six
Most sky-watchers will struggle to see tiny distant Mercury and the gas giant Jupiter, experts said, as both worlds will be too close to the horizon to be visible, especially those living in rocky or mountainous geographic regions
‘People who plan to rise early and step outside on June 3 expecting to see the bloated disk of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn in a single glance will be, at the very least, quite disappointed,’ broadcast meteorologist Joe Rao warned this week.
Most sky-watchers, in fact, will struggle to see tiny distant Mercury and the gas giant Jupiter, as both worlds will be too close to the horizon to be visible for most people, especially those living in rocky or mountainous geographic regions.
And only those with good telescopes will be able to catch a glimpse of Uranus and Neptune, which like Mercury will be too dimly visible to be seen with the naked eye.
Uranus, according to the meteorologist, can be seen by the naked eye, but just barely and only be star-gazers who live in the right, remote areas.
‘Only under very dark, non-light polluted skies,’ Rao wrote at Space.com.
Of course, to sight an object so faint, you’ll need to know exactly where it is in the sky,’ he noted. ‘A good star map will certainly help.’
‘People who plan to rise early and step outside on June 3 expecting to see the bloated disk of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn in a single glance will be, at the very least, quite disappointed,’ broadcast meteorologist Joe Rao warned this week describing a view like this image above
For those living in a rural, flat, open country, like Montana or somewhere across America’s Great Plains region, who want to get up early in an attempt spotting this planetary parade, a few more modern version of a star map might help.
Stellarium is one useful online tool to help plan where to look in the early dawn and, on mobile, Sky Tonight’s free app can help make the hunt for our solar system’s June parade grounds much easier.
You will still need a good telescope and even better weather to manage spotting all six planets in one morning, but there is no need to despair if you fail.
‘You’re worrying that planetary alignments are rare, but honestly, we get one every couple of years,’ as the head NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, Bill Cooke, told ABC, during a five-planet alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars in March of 2023.
