Six Planets Align in Evening Sky This Weekend

Stargazers around the world have a rare opportunity this weekend to witness a planetary parade, where six planets align visibly in the evening sky after sunset. The event features Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, with the optimal viewing window beginning Saturday and extending through early next week, depending on local weather conditions.

The alignment occurs because the planets orbit the sun in roughly the same plane, known as the ecliptic, allowing them to appear lined up from Earth's perspective when their positions coincide. This phenomenon is visible globally, though observers in the northern hemisphere will see Jupiter high in the southeast, while Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune cluster low near the western horizon. In the southern hemisphere, the pattern reverses, with Jupiter appearing in the north and Uranus in the northwest.

Four of the planets, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, can be spotted with the naked eye under clear skies, provided viewers allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness for about 20 minutes. Jupiter will stand out as the brightest, positioned higher in the sky and roughly as elevated as the moon. Venus, the...