Fresh off the excitement of the Perseids meteor shower is a chance to see six planets in the sky at the same time. These events, colloquially known as planet parades, only occur about once or twice a year, with the most recent one in February showing off all seven planets at once. The next one will feature six of our closest celestial neighbors, and the event starts on Aug. 20.
The six planets sharing the sky will be Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. Mars will technically be there at the beginning of the night, but it dips below the horizon right after sunset, so it won't be visible when all of the others are. Of those, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will be visible to the naked eye, while the others will require high-powered binoculars or, preferably, a telescope.
Even though they're spread out across the eastern and southern skies, the planets pair up with this one, making many of them pretty easy to find if you know what to look for. From east to west, here's where each one will be.
Mercury - Eastern sky near the Cancer constellation. It'll pop over the horizon just before sunrise, so you'll have limited time to view it before the sun comes up and obfuscates it.
- Eastern sky near the Cancer constellation. It'll pop over the horizon just before sunrise, so you'll have limited time to view it before the sun comes up and obfuscates it. Venus - At the lower tip of the Gemini constellation in the eastern sky, a couple of hours before sunrise.
- At the lower tip of the Gemini constellation in the eastern sky, a couple of hours before sunrise. Jupiter - Will be near Venus, also in the Gemini constellation. It rises about an hour before Venus does.
- Will be near Venus, also in the Gemini constellation. It rises about an hour before Venus does. Uranus - Will be near the upper tip of Taurus, rising after midnight. This one will require some magnification. If you see Pleiades, a cluster of stars at the upper tip of Taurus, you've gone too far upward.
- Will be near the upper tip of Taurus, rising after midnight. This one will require some magnification. If you see Pleiades, a cluster of stars at the upper tip of Taurus, you've gone too far upward. Saturn and Neptune - These two are right next to each other and will be sitting between the Pisces and Cetus constellations in the southern skies. Neptune will be closer to Pisces while Saturn will be closer to Cetus.
Since it takes a long time for planets to move through the night sky, Aug. 20 is the starting point, and it'll run through the rest of the month. Once September hits, Mercury will be too close to the sun, which will obscure it. From that point, there will be a five-planet parade for a while until Venus sinks below the horizon in early October. So, in all, you'll have a chance to see at least five planets for over a month.
Will the planet parade be visible from my region?
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