5 planets to light the sky in astronomical alignment on Tuesday

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 28, 2023 12:34 pm

Five planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus - will align and light up the sky on Tuesday.

According to multiple media reports, the planets will be mostly visible to the naked eye in the night sky on March 27 and March 28, depending on where on Earth you are located.

It is not clear if this planetary parade will be visible from Singapore.

However, last Friday, Venus was clearly visible from the Republic, sidling up to the new crescent moon and seemingly almost touching it.

While the planets will not appear in a straight line, they are expected to be visible in a part of the sky next to the waxing crescent moon.

An unobstructed, westward-facing shoreline with a good view of the horizon and clear skies offers the best chance of spotting the alignment, according to Space.com.

Comets are traditionally named by or after the person or observatory that discovered them.

Singapore

Rare comet to light up Singapore’s night skies from Oct 11

Oct 07, 2024

Several reports also suggest that there is only a 20 to 25-minute window to spot all the planets together, just after sunset.

“Wait until the sun has set and then go out and look low in that bright part of the sky where the sun has just set with binoculars, and you should see brighter Jupiter next to fainter Mercury,” said senior contributing editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, Mr Rick Fienberg, in an NPR article.

He added: “The easiest planet to spot will be Venus, which will be the brightest of the five and located high in the sky. Mars, too, will appear like a bright spot next to the moon. Uranus can be seen using binoculars above the moon.”

Among the people who will be stargazing is former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who tweeted on Monday: “I’m always on the lookout for some great star-gazing opportunities…and Tuesday might be a night to grab the binoculars and catch a glimpse of a pretty rare five-planet alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars. Here’s hoping the skies will remain clear!”

The planetary alignment was already spotted over Britain, with the BBC reporting that the northern parts of Scotland and its islands had some of the best views due to clear skies.

Another five-planet alignment - of Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn - will be seen on June 17.

In June 2022, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn lined up in the same order as their positions from the sun for the first time since December 2004. This order will not be seen again until 2040.