British astronomers will be in “seventh heaven” on Friday as a rare celestial event unfolds. For the first time in 18 years, seven planets will be aligned.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus will form what astronomers often call a “planetary parade.” The best time to watch them will be around half an hour before sunrise on June 24-27.
Five of the planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – will be visible to the naked eye on Friday. The other two – Uranus and Neptune – will be too dim to see unaided, but you can spot them with binoculars or a telescope around June 27.
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The seven planets have not appeared on the same line on the horizon since December 2004. Astronomer and Stargazing London founder Tom Kerss told the Sun newspaper: “It’s worth sounding the early alarm and watching from your garden, or any south/east facing window or balcony available to you.
“The planets are easy to spot even in the relatively clear summer sky. Unlike the stars, they don’t seem to twinkle, and Mars is noticeably orange, while Saturn is slightly golden.”
(Photo: NASA-twitter)
Meanwhile, the news got the poet out of NASA’s Twitter account in the United States. He said, “The planets are aligning. That’s good. What is time? Does it even rhyme? Look up from tonight to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn s ‘spread out and appear to line up in the sky. The crescent moon joins them on June 23.’
As Nasa points out, this alignment is made even more special due to another sighting that should take place and the waning crescent moon should be visible between Venus and Mars. However, the moon will not appear aligned with the planets.
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