In a rare astronomical feat on friday night, seven planets—Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, and Venus—were no longer best seen concurrently but additionally regarded to be data-aligned when seen from Earth.
The brilliant celestial occasion known as a planetary data-alignment, or a planet parade, handled the outer space marvels seen in the nighttime sky on the ultimate day of February. Even though planet lineups are not necessarily uncommon, a seven-planet data-alignment is surprisingly uncommon. august 2025 is also set to delight space fans with a four-planet parade, according to NASA.
As for the Feb spectacle, stargazers round the world witnessed the "rare planetary parade" on Friday. netizens shared their snaps of the nighttime sky splendor, marveling at how "cool" the distance is.
Professional weighs in on planetary parade
"A planetary parade is a second whilst a couple of planets are visible inside the sky at the identical time," Dr. Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, informed PA Media. "How incredible a parade it is will rely upon how many planets are in it and how visible they are."
"Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn are all very near the horizon within the early nighttime and, mainly inside the case of Neptune and Saturn, will conflict to be visible within the twilight," Brown added. "Further, Uranus, like Neptune, may be very faint, making it almost not possible to discover without a pair of binoculars or a telescope. Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are all very smooth to see with the unaided eye."
Netizens stock planetary data-alignment photos on X.
Despite the fact that the spectacle isn't always crystal clear in all images of the cosmic synchronization shared on the microblogging platform X, formerly Twitter, the wonder shared with the aid of space fans became unprecedented. And it makes experience in the end; some other all-seven-planet lineup is not anticipated until 2040.
"Been wakeful considering the fact that 3 am and drove for 8 hours to witness the planetary data-alignment from one of the most important darkish sky preserves within the US," an X consumer tweeted with a picture of the lovely night sky.
Another excited stargazer shared from the UK: "The #PlanetaryParade Alignment from Cornwall_UK tonight :)... Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune all had set with the aid of this time..."
"Space is cool #PlanetaryParade #planetarydata-alignment," posted someone else on X.
An images page on X even shared a timelapse of 4000 pictures of the mesmerizing planetary parade.