Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars can be seen with a naked eye from Earth. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
MOLLY DURM | STAFF REPORTER | mdurm@butler.edu
A planetary parade of six planets is currently in effect in our solar system; viewers can spot four aligned planets with the naked eye throughout February. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will be visible but Neptune and Uranus will require a telescope or binoculars to be seen. On Feb. 28 a seventh planet, Mercury, will join the parade.
A planetary parade occurs when multiple planets align on the same side of the Sun. The planets are always in line with one another because they all orbit the sun on a flat-disc shape, but planetary parades are significant because they occur when planets appear close enough to each other and to Earth to be visible with the naked eye.
Aarran Shaw, an assistant professor of astronomy and director of Holcomb Observatory, emphasized the phenomenon of this specific planetary parade.
“We can go outside around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and see four really bright planets,” Shaw said. “So the fact that they’re all in a line isn’t special, It’s the fact that so many of them are appearing in the sky at once and at a reasonable time, so you don’t have to wait until 2 a.m. to see.”
Tim Shackelford, associate director of Holcomb Observatory, highlighted that timing is not the only factor that makes this parade particularly accessible. The visibility of the planets in the night sky should make them easy to spot for all viewers.
“Anybody can look out and see,” Shackelford said. “Saturn is going to be a little more dim, but Venus, Jupiter and Mars, those are three of the brightest things in the sky right now.”
To find each planet in the sky you can view a map of the alignment to point you in the right direction or download an app designed to help viewers spot the planets from where they are standing. The best time to view this celestial event is after sunset as soon as the sky is dark.
Shaw discussed the challenges that could come as planets start to shift down toward the horizon line.
However he noted that even in a city like Indianapolis, we can still spot the planets with just the naked eye.
“As Saturn gets lower in the sky we’ll start to lose visibility because of buildings, since Indiana is super flat,” Shaw said. “But there’s no issues even from a light-polluted area like this, you can still see the brightest planets in the sky.”
Heather Stutz, first-year astronomy and astrophysics major, discussed how planetary alignments have been relevant throughout history often accompanied by theories of how phenomena like this affect humans and the Earth.
“We see historically there were a lot of ancient civilizations who thought that the planetary alignment meant that something really bad was coming, that it was a message from the gods,” Stutz said. “It’s super highly documented throughout history.”
Students interested in this phenomenon are encouraged to visit the Holcomb Observatory on campus. The observatory is home to a one-meter telescope, the largest accessible telescope in Indiana which is available for students to view for free. Visit the observatory website to view specific hours of operation.
Stutz encouraged everyone to look to the sky and take in the rarity of this event.
“It’s really important that we acknowledge this stuff while it does happen,” Stutz said, “We may not see this again for possibly 400 years. So this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I think everyone should try and see it.”
This alignment offers a unique opportunity for both frequent stargazers and casual observers to witness a rare astronomical event. Whether seen with the naked eye or through the telescope at Holcomb Observatory, viewing this planetary parade is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.