2025 is starting with a noise for skygazers, with a parade now visible in the night sky. A parade of the planet is when some of the planets of our solar system are visible in the night sky at the same time. There will be six visible planets this time, including Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
The six planets are visible now, and will remain so by the end of February. Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible to the naked eye. You will need a high -power viewing device as a telescope to see Neptune and Uranus.
The best time to see the planets from the northern hemisphere will be immediately after sunset around 8:30 pm with local time. You may still be able to capture Venus, Saturn and Neptune on the horizon after that, but all three planets will be under the horizon until 11:30 am to midnight depending on your location. After that, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will remain visible for a few more hours with Mars finally setting before sunrise.
Unlike previous parades, this is decided to last long as the planets are in favorable points in the sky. You should be able to see all six planets at night until last week or more February.
After that, the seven planet parade will begin as Mercury will briefly join others in the sky for two days, turning this into a planetary parade of all seven planets in our solar system except Earth. It will be difficult to see everyone as Saturn, Mercury and Neptune will be close enough to the sun on sunset, but they will be there.
By the time the march is developing, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune will have been moved very close to the sun to be easily visible with Venus not far away, leaving Jupiter, Mars and Uranus to populate the night sky until the next parade begins.
Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will be in the southeastern heaven while Neptune, Venus and Saturn will occupy the southwest sky around 9:30 pm local time.
Will my region see the planet’s parade?
Most, if not all, locations in the JB, Canada and Mexico should be able to see the planetary parade this time thanks to its long length and limited planetary movement. We searched observations in California, Texas, Ohio and New York in the US, along with Calgary in Canada and Mexico City, Mexico. We were able to find all six planets in each country, so it doesn’t matter how far north, east, west or south, you will be able to see.
In general, the best time to see the planet parade will be after January 21, and before February 21. The best time will be January 29th week during the new moon. (As we explain in this story, a new moon is a shady moon, which makes it look like the moon is gone.) The shady moon will reduce the pollution of light in the sky and make Neptune, Uranus and Saturn easier to see.
Read more: The full moon explained, from the blue moons to the supermutas in the lunar stages
You won’t have to wait long for the six planets to be in the sky. They will be there as soon as the sun sets. Once dark, you will only have a few hours to see them in front of Venus, Saturn and Neptune dip below the horizon for the evening. This applies despite the location, so no matter where you are, everything is happening at the same time.
During the last days of February, Mercury will make his appearance and the parade will grow on seven planets. This will be best viewed in the sunset and it will be harder to see while the sun is still on the horizon.
Will I need any special equipment to see the parade?
Technically yes. You will be able to distinguish Venus, Mars, Jupiter and potentially Saturn with the naked eye in appropriate conditions. However, Neptune and Uranus are just too far away to see. Astronomers note that you will probably need a telescope with at least an 8 -inch opening 50 times to see the Uranus and its rings, and 150 times magnification to see Neptune and its rings. If you are so equipped, give it a telescope a point in Saturn. In magnification 25 times, you will be able to see the crown of our solar system in all its glory.
Standard space viewing rules also apply here. You will want to leave the city, where light pollution can deceive your appearance. Even the suburbs may not be far enough for many people. If you are planning a long car outside the city and its surroundings, you will want to make sure it is a clear night with the least cloud cover.
If you are headed to see the seven planets in late February, you will have a particularly difficult task in front of you as some of the planets will be quite close to the sun. You may want to invest in UV protection for your eyes and be especially careful where you show your telescope.
How can I find the planets in the sky?
Given that Neptune and Uranus are particularly difficult to find paired with the fact that Saturn and Venus will be immediately close to each other, there may be some difficulty in finding all six planets in the sky. For this, there are some good tools available. Check out Stellarium’s website, along with the night sky map of the time and date. They should give you a good idea of where each planet is about others. Star Walk 2 is a great app on Android and iOS. Stellarium also has its own Android and iOS applications.
What is a planetary parade?
A planetary parade is a colocial term that is worth when four or more planets are lined up in the night sky immediately. It is not an official term of astronomy, so you will rarely hear that astronomers use it. However, NASA has been known to refer to the phenomenon as a “parade of planets”.
The official term is planetary extent, though that term tends to plant little confusion. Some phrase interpretations include the planets lined up on the same side of the sun, all next to each other. Planets can never be fully lined up exactly as you can see in the pictures, but they can all be on the same side of the sun and relatively close to the lining.
However, in everyday use, planetary parades and extensions are the same thing and simply describe when there are some visible planets in the night sky at the same time. These planets can be nowhere near one another in their solar orbits, but are visible from the Earth’s perspective.