Current:Home > reviewsHow to watch a rare 5-planet alignment this weekend -MoneySpot
How to watch a rare 5-planet alignment this weekend
View
Date:2025-04-24 21:09:16
Five planets will align on June 17 in a rare astronomical event. The planetary alignment will include Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Mercury.
The planets will rise slowly throughout the night, with different planets visible at different times, according to the astronomy guide app Star Walk.
Here's how to see the planets.
What is a planetary alignment?
A planetary alignment actually has two definitions, according to Star Walk. When planets gather on one side of the sun at the same time, that's a planetary alignment. The term can also apply when planets appear close together, as seen from Earth, in a small section of the sky.
The planets will form a line, but not necessarily a straight one, because planets operate on different elliptical orbits. From some angles, they may appear to be in a straight line.
When is the June 2023 planetary alignment?
The alignment will be best visible on the night of June 16 until the morning of June 17. The best time to see all five planets in the sky will be an hour before sunrise, Star Walk said.
The alignment may be visible for a few days before and after the 16th, depending on where you are in the world.
The alignment will start with Saturn, which will rise in the middle of the night near the constellation Aquarius. Neptune will be next, followed by Jupiter appearing in the Aries constellation. Uranus will appear after that, near Jupiter but a few degrees lower. The final planet to rise will be Mercury, which will be low on the horizon and visible an hour before sunrise.
What's the best way to watch the five planets align?
Three of the planets — Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn — will be bright and visible with the naked eye. However, the remaining two planets, Neptune and Uranus, will require at least a pair of binoculars, according to Star Walk.
It can also help to download an app that explores the night sky and can provide direction about where to look for the alignment.
When you're watching the skies, make sure you know what to look at: According to Star Walk, stars will twinkle, but planets won't. Jupiter will be the brightest object in the sky until the sun rises, but the other planets will be fainter, so it will be harder to tell them apart from stars.
Will there be more planetary alignments in 2023?
There was already one five-planet alignment this year, in March. Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars appeared in the night sky after sunset late in the month. The best day to see the event was March 28.
There will be another alignment later in the summer, according to Star Walk. That alignment will take place in July and be best visible on July 22. It will feature just three planets, with Mars, Venus and Mercury appearing in the evening sky.
The next planetary alignment with five or more planets won't be until April 2024, according to Star Walk.
- In:
- Mercury
- Saturn
- Jupiter
- Earth
- Uranus
- News From Space
- Neptune
- Space
Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.
veryGood! (3278)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- 'A profound desecration': Navajo Nation asks NASA to delay moon mission with human remains
- Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match set for March 9 in Saudi Arabia
- RIP Jim Gaffigan, by Jim Gaffigan
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Man who attacked Las Vegas judge in shocking video faces 13 new charges
- Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce its strict abortion ban, even in medical emergencies
- Do 'Home Town' stars Erin, Ben Napier think about retiring? Their answer, and design advice
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- To plead or not to plead? That is the question for hundreds of Capitol riot defendants
Ranking
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Nude man nabbed by police after ‘cannonball’ plunge into giant aquarium at Bass Pro Shop in Alabama
- Justice Department sues Texas over state's new border security law
- Nashville is reassigning 10 officers following the leak of a school shooter’s writings, police say
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Terminally ill Connecticut woman ends her life in Vermont
- Soften the blow of student loan repayments with an up to $2,500 tax deduction. Here's how.
- Texas father and son arrested in the killings of a pregnant woman and her boyfriend face new charges
Recommendation
Sam Taylor
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match set for March 9 in Saudi Arabia
Cosabella, Lounge & More Lingerie Deals Sure to Get Your Heart Racing for Valentine’s Day
After 16-year restoration, Greece unveils palace where Alexander the Great became king
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel in ‘initial response’ to killing of top leader from allied Hamas
Pedro Pascal, Melanie Lynskey, the Obamas among nominees at creative arts Emmy Awards
Harry Dunn, officer who defended the US Capitol on Jan. 6, is running for Congress in Maryland