Have you heard of the “planet parade?” If you haven’t seen the wild claims of the so-called alignment of six or seven planets in your social media feeds, you soon will. Is that a fact? It’s certainly not a fiction, med NASA as the source for a claim that six planets – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus – will soon be visible together in the evening sky. The word “visible” carries a lot of weight, because unfortunately only two of these planets will be easy to see, while two are marginal and two require either binoculars, a telescope or a camera and a camera lens. But if you know what to expect and have the right equipment, it will be possible to see six planets in one evening.
February ‘planetary parade’: Use of binoculars
Binoculars will be one of the most useful tools for this event. While Jupiter and Venus will be visible to the naked eye, a good pair of binoculars will dramatically improve your chances of seeing Mercury and Saturn in high twilight, as well as glimpse Uranus and the open cluster of the Pleiades when it’s dark. They will also be useful for observing the moon and the nearby beehive cluster.
Products with 7x to 10x magnification and either 42mm or 50mm apertures are ideal for astronomy, providing a wide field of view yet still usable for sweeping over the western horizon to pick out fainter objects near the glow of a recent sunset. About 7×42, 7×50, 10×42 or 10×50 products – or something similar – balance brightness, magnification and stability, so you can get a good view of the fainter members of the “planetary parade.”
Keeping a maximum aperture of 50mm means you’ll be able to hold the binoculars steady enough to identify planets. But if you need a helping hand, consider image-stabilized binoculars, which use clever construction and electronics to reduce hand shake, helping to reveal the subtle light of faint planets and making it easier to “star hop” from one object to another.
February ‘planetary parade’: Using a telescope
A telescope will be especially useful for this “planetary parade” if you want any chance of seeing Neptune. It will also be incredibly useful for Uranus and Saturn, give you a great view of Jupiter and its moons, and provide a stunning close-up view of the moon’s craters.
For planetary observation, refractor telescopes, Dobsonians, Schmidt-Cassegrains, and Maksutov-Cassegrains have long focal lengths and can accommodate eyepieces that offer high magnifications.
A six-inch telescope will give you a reasonable chance of making out Saturn, although twilight conditions will make it challenging. That is even more the case for Neptune, which will require excellent conditions. The same telescope is likely to reveal Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s cloud bands, transforming them from bright dots into distinct worlds.
Any smaller telescope will be useful for Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon. The larger the telescope’s aperture, the more light it collects and the higher magnification it allows, revealing more detail.
Smart telescopes, which automatically locate and track objects, will simplify the hunt for Uranus and Neptune. By removing the guesswork, they can quickly position the instrument and even stack digital images to improve faint targets—but don’t expect great photos.
How to take pictures of the “planet parade”
Photographing this planetary collection requires planning and realistic expectations. The planets will be clustered low in the west-southwest for a short time, with Jupiter halfway between the southern horizon and overhead. It is a large part of the night sky. Add to that the fact that the sky will be quite bright in the west around the point of sunset, and imaging this event will be challenging. If your goal is still a wide-angle landscape shot showing multiple planets at once, use a manual mirrorless camera or DSLR with a wide-angle lens (approx. 14mm) mounted on a sturdy tripod.
For bright planets like Venus and Jupiter, a smartphone attached to a telescope using an adapter can take basic pictures – although the results will be very basic. The same goes for smart telescopes, which can only capture rudimentary images of planets (most are designed for faint deep-sky objects).
More advanced observers can use dedicated astronomy cameras attached directly to telescopes. These “astrocams” record high frame rate video, which can later be stacked and processed to reveal planetary details. It will work well on Jupiter and Uranus in the dark, and to some extent on Saturn and Neptune, but the latter is not well positioned for astrophotography.
The late February parade can require luck, patience and equipment, but for those willing to head out just after sunset, it offers a rewarding sweep of the solar system in a single evening sky. Keep your expectations low and your hopes high – then prepare for the total lunar eclipse on March 3rd.
‘Planetary Parade’ or ‘Planetary Alignment’?
What is about to happen is more a matter of geometry and timing than a perfectly straight line-up in space. The planets orbit the Sun in roughly the same flat plane, known as the ecliptic. It is the same path that the sun traces across our daytime sky, and the route closely followed by the moon and planets at night. Since they share the same orbital plane, planets always appear along a similar arc in the sky. When several happen to be on the same side of the Sun as the Earth, they can be visible in the same general region of the sky. That’s what’s happening this month, but planets don’t form a straight line in space; they are only visible at the same time from our vantage point on Earth. Often mistakenly called a “planetary parade,” it is much more accurate to describe it as a “planetary alignment.”
Regardless of the nomenclature or the chances of seeing every celestial body promised in the headlines, it’s a great opportunity to see the sky.
When and where to see February’s ‘planetary parade’
The key date is Saturday 28 February. According to NASA, that evening offers one of the best opportunities to attempt the full sweep. It’s not the only night to take a look, and no matter which night you try, timing and location will be crucial.
The most important thing to remember is that this “parade of planets” will not be as easy as i February 2025when Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were seen stretching across the sky. This time, not all will be visible to the naked eye, and some will be extremely challenging to detect.
The window is closed. About 30 minutes after sunset, Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune will briefly share the twilight sky. They will remain visible for about 45 minutes before slipping below the horizon. Where they appear, and for how long, depends entirely on your location, so check Stellarium Web or TimeAndDate’s Night sky tonight for rise and set times.
No matter where you observe from, you clearly need clear skies and an unobstructed view due west. Light pollution has little effect on planetary visibility (except perhaps Uranus) because planets are much closer and brighter than stars. However, a clear western horizon, free of buildings or trees, is critical. Start low on the western horizon and go through the planets one by one:
Venus
Optics required: The naked eye
The steady light of bright Venus – shining at magnitude -3.8 – will make it the easiest planet to spot low in the west (a negative magnitude means it’s brighter, a positive magnitude means it’s fainter).
Mercury
Optics required: Binoculars
A few degrees above Venus will be Mercury, but it will be many times fainter at magnitude 2. It is still potentially visible to the naked eye in good atmospheric conditions, although it is far more likely to appear only in binoculars. However, it was at its greatest elongation from the Sun as seen from Earth on February 19, so it will be lower in the sky each evening. The best advice is to get a viewing of it as close to February 19 as possible.
Saturn
Optics required: Binoculars
Slightly higher than both inner planets will be Saturn, which at magnitude 1 may require careful scanning in the sharp twilight with binoculars. It’s descending, about to drift into the sunshine, so it’s far from its prime.
Neptune
Optics required: Six inches telescope e.g Celestron Nexstar 6SE
Neptune, which will sit very close to Saturn, will be enormously challenging. If you’ve never seen Neptune, that probably won’t change during this “planetary parade” because it’s going to be incredibly difficult to find in the twilight glow, even with a six-inch telescope. It shines at strength 8.
Jupiter
Optics required: The naked eye
Now the good news – Jupiter will be easy to find. Burning brightly in the constellation Gemini at magnitude -2.3, the giant planet will be high in the south and easy to see. It will shine intensely and evenly, and if you have binoculars or a telescope, train them on Jupiter to see the four Galilean moons around it – Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede.
Uranus
Optics required: Binoculars or a small one telescope
The sixth planet, Uranus, lies below the Pleiades star cluster (also known as M45) in the constellation Taurus. It shines at magnitude 5.7. To find it, find Orion’s belt and follow that line up towards the Pleiades. Uranus will be just below, appearing as a faint greenish point through binoculars or a small telescope. Since it will remain “up” long after the cluster of planets low in the west has set, you can wait until it’s really dark to look for Uranus.
The Moon and M44
Optics required: The naked eye and binoculars
In addition to the February 28 scene, a very bright waxing gibbous moon, just a few days from full, will shine near the Beehive Cluster (also called M44), which will be visible with binoculars.
