Experience the Celestial Spectacle: A Guide to Observing Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the Planet Parade!

In the upcoming weeks, a mesmerizing parade of planets will illuminate the nighttime sky, presenting a cosmic marvel that both novice and experienced stargazers can readily witness.

Throughout the month, four planets — Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars — will seem to align and be luminous enough to view with the unaided eye during the initial hours post sunset, as per NASA’s information. Uranus and Neptune will also be present, but will necessitate binoculars or telescopes for visibility.

“These multi-planet viewing occasions aren’t particularly common, but they don’t occur every year, so it’s advisable to take a look,” NASA remarked.

Since the start of January, Venus and Saturn have been gradually moving closer to one another. The peak will occur Friday and Saturday, when the two planets will seem to be within just “a couple of finger widths’ distance apart” from Earth’s viewpoint, NASA indicated. (Although in actuality, there are hundreds of millions of miles separating them.)

In the meantime, Mars is at “opposition” this month. This is when a planet and the sun are in direct opposition while Earth is situated in between. This astronomical occurrence takes place roughly every two years for the red planet.

Opposition is “around the moment when the planet is at its nearest to Earth, making it appear at its largest and most luminous,” NASA stated.

For those intending to view the cosmic arrangement, NASA indicated that Venus and Saturn will be observable in the southwest during the initial hours after sunset. At that time, Jupiter will radiate high above while Mars will emerge in the east. An easy method to differentiate a star from a planet is that planets usually shine steadily while stars flicker, according to NASA.

In June 2024, a planet parade showcasing Saturn, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter was visible in the morning sky, although only two planets were observable with the unaided eye.