https://weather.com/science/space/news/2025-01-23-january-2025-planetary-alignment-parade-of-planets
What To Know:
Planets, including Earth, orbit around the sun in a line called the ecliptic. But what we see in the night sky changes as we move through space. "These multi-planet viewing opportunities aren’t super rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth checking it out," according to NASA's January night sky notes.The best viewing for January's planetary parade is about 90 minutes after sunset, in as dark and clear a spot as you can find. Use binoculars or a telescope for an even better look.
The alignment will be visible into February.
Pamela Gay, senior scientist with the Planetary Science Institute, tells us:
- "This combination of getting everything within the sky at the same time is the real challenge (for night sky watchers). Most of the time you have to go outside and wait for something to rise. Right now, they're all there at the same time."
- "While they're closest in late January, this alignment is going take time to fall apart. And this means that if you go out night after night, you're going to see where Venus and Saturn are next to each other, slowly changing as they drift apart. And, and as you watch, you can actually see these slight changes in all the planet's positions."
- "We're all just worlds attached to a ring going round and around the sun. And because all those rings are lined up in, in the same plane on the sky, we get to see things chase each other around and sometimes fill the sky all at once."
