Alani Vargas
·5 min read
When you think about it, there is a lot going on in the sky. Between full moons, supermoons and northern lights, the sky likes to show off how cosmically cool it is. Even though the full moon for the month of August has passed, you have another planetary event happening next week to keep a look out for: a planetary alignment, or "planet parade" as others call it.
So, what is a planet parade? And when is the next time you can view one? We’ve got all you need to know about how to view the six planets visible in the sky this August.
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What Is a Planetary Parade or Planetary Alignment?
At this point, you might be wondering what the heck a planetary parade is. Which is understandable because it might not be something that sticks out to you from middle school science class.
The BBC reported back in May that a planet parade is when planets reach the same point at the same time, making it look like they’re in a little parade. This can also be called a planetary alignment because the planets are all aligned.
If you’ve ever seen the Disney movie, Hercules, you might remember that Hades’ big bad plan all revolved around the moment when all planets aligned. This planetary alignment allowed him to open Tartarus and release the Titans to take over Olympus. So while not all planets have to be aligned to make a planet parade, this visual in this movie is kind of what we’re talking about.
When Is the Next 2024 Planet Parade?
There was one planetary alignment in June,but the next one is this coming week starting on August 23 and continuing through August 30, depending on your location, according to Star Walk.
As for what time you’ll be able to see the planet parade, that depends on where in the world you are. We’ll get to that when we talk about what regions can see the planetary alignment, but as Star Walk reported, “The planetary alignment will be visible almost everywhere in the morning hours.”
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Which Planets Can I See in the Sky During the August 2024 Planet Parade?
As we mentioned before, this planet parade is not going to include all the planets, like in Hercules. But there will be six planets in the planetary parade happening this week.
As Star Walk reported, the six planets that you’ll be able to spot in the sky this upcoming planet parade are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn.
Which Regions Can See the Planetary Parade?
Okay, getting into where and when, exactly, you can view the planetary parade from your part of the world, Star Walk recommends the Sky Tonight app. But they also note that Aug. 28 is a “general date” and list out the “ideal date” to see the planet parade from various locations. This includes:
Aug. 23: Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong
Aug. 24: Athens, New York and Tokyo
Aug. 26: Berlin, London and Reykjavík
Aug. 28: Mexico
Aug. 30: São Paulo and Sydney
If you don’t want to download an app, TimeandDate.com also has a tool where you can put your location and the date, to see which planets will be visible that day, along with how visible they’ll be and times. Generally, though, Star Walk recommends finding out what time the sun is rising where you live and start observing the sky for these planets an hour before that.
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How To Watch the Six Planet Parade in August 2024
Can I see the planets with just my eyes? Do I need a telescope for August 2024’s planetary alignment?
First off, you have to know what you’re looking for. As Star Walk states, it can be tricky to look at the sky and mistake stars for planets. If the object you’re looking at in the sky twinkles, it’s a star. And again, the Sky Tonight app has features that make it clearer where in the sky the planets should be.
As for what equipment you’ll need to see these planets, other than the helpful app, Star Walk reports that you can view Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the naked eye. So no telescope is needed in order to enjoy the majority of the planets in this planetary alignment.
To see Neptune and Uranus, though, you do need a telescope or “high-powered binoculars” because they’re further away and, therefore, harder to see.
When Is the Next Planetary Alignment?
Below are the upcoming planetary alignments, when they’ll broadly be visible and what planets you can see during these planet parades!
August 28, 2024: “Large morning alignment” and you can spot Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
January 18, 2025: “Large evening alignment” and you can see Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Venus.
February 28, 2025: “Full evening alignment” and you can spot Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars. Important that this is the next planetary alignment where you can view seven planets.
August 29, 2025: “Large morning alignment” where you can spot Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn.
Star Walk also lists out the “most anticipated planetary alignments” for the next few hundred years, which is an interesting read if you’re intrigued by what the future sky holds!
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