Get ready, sky watchers — the next astronomical event will take place on June 3rd.
According to StarWalk.space, a stargazing and astronomy website, there will be a planetary alignment, or “planet parade” in informal parlance, on Monday. We will see six planets – Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune and Saturn – adorning our sky in the morning hours.
How will settlement occur?
Planets orbit the Sun continuously in the Solar System. The planets will slowly catch up with each other over time. Because they all travel along the same path, the plane of the ecliptic, when they pass Earth, it appears as if they are aligned, according to NASA. However, the alignment formation will be short-lived because each planet moves at different speeds depending on its distance from the Sun.
Where to look for planetary alignments
Looking at the eastern sky, the planetary alignment will be visible almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere (weather permitting).
The four planets – Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn should be visible to the naked eye. But you’ll need a high-powered telescope to see Uranus (which will be closest to Mercury) and Neptune.
Planetary alignments are not extremely rare, especially with two to four planets. They occur several times a year. However, alignments of five or more planets are less common.
The last planetary alignment observed in the Northern Hemisphere was on April 8.
Profiles of the six planets on display
All eight planets in our solar system have some very interesting features. Here’s a quick look at the planets aligned on June 3:
Auroras, ‘devil’s comet’, solar eclipse and meteor showers all set to hit the skies in 2024
Planetary alignments aren’t the only celestial show of the year. So far, 2024 has brought a total solar eclipse and a visit from the “Devil’s Comet.”
The aurora borealis also appeared overhead and several meteor showers streaked across the sky with more to come soon.
The Perseid meteor shower is always the big show of the year, according to NASA. This year, the Perseids will peak from August 12-13 with 50 to 100 meteors per hour. Also this year, there will be no moonlight to spoil the view that night, Bill Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, told NASA’s Watch the Skies blog.
And the aurora borealis that lit up Ohio’s night sky on May 10 could be back.
“The superstorm of May 10 could be just the first of several spectacular displays we’ll experience between now and 2026,” astronomer Tony Phillips of SpaceWeather.com told USA TODAY.
The sun is entering its solar maximum, Phillips said, which means more sunspots and solar flares are ejecting particles. When these particles hit the Earth’s magnetic field, they push the aurora away from the poles. A strong enough solar storm like the one on May 10 can push the aurora into the United States and further south.
Predicting them is a real challenge, USA TODAY reports. Even the best predictions can only be made accurately days or even hours in advance.
When will the planets align again?
Here’s when StarWalk.space predicts the next alignment of planets six and seven will occur:
◾ June 3: Six planets – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
◾ August 28: Six planets – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
◾ January 18, 2025:Six planets – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
◾ February 28, 2025: Seven planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. (The last time all seven planets aligned was on April 8 during a total solar eclipse).
◾ August 29, 2025:Six planets – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
SOURCE: StarWalk.space, NASA, Astronomy.com and USA TODAY research