Celestial spectacle: Watch the parade of planets in the night sky

From January 21, 2025, six planets will be lined up in the night sky. Such a parade of planets is rare. The spectacle will last around six weeks.

On the evening of January 21, 2025, shortly after sunset, six planets will be lined up in the sky: Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn. Neptune and Uranus can only be observed with a telescope. However, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are visible to the naked eye in good weather conditions.

January 21, 2025 – perfect date for the planetary parade

On January 21, 2025, the lined-up planets will be clearly visible in most places around the world. But even after this date you can still observe the planetary parade. Klaus Jäger from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg says: “On the one hand, it has been consistent for a few days now that Mars rose in the east after sunset before Venus and Saturn set in the west. The other planets lie in between in the sky. This will continue like this for a few more weeks until Saturn and Venus in the west get too close to the sun and become invisible.”

At the end of February, Mercury will also join the parade as the seventh “bonus planet”. However, since Mercury only shines faintly, this planet will be difficult to observe.

“Space race” – this is how a planetary parade is created

A planetary parade occurs when we can observe two or more planets very close together from Earth. Experts also refer to this event as a planetary conjunction or planetary alignment.

The planets in our solar system orbit the sun at roughly the same plane. The scientific explanation for this is: Our planetary system was formed almost five billion years ago. The sun itself was formed from a cloud of gas and dust. Our planets then emerged from a disk rotating around the sun. That’s why the planets still move more or less on the same level today. And we also observe this in the sky.

However, the planets move at different speeds. Therefore, planets are sometimes far apart and sometimes closer together. You can imagine this like a race between a fast, a medium and a slow runner in a stadium. Even though all three have different speeds, there will be a point every few laps when they are on par for a moment.

So when several planets gather in the same part of their orbit and this coincides with our view from Earth, such a constellation, a planetary parade, occurs.

However, this proximity of the planets is only a perspective effect from the perspective of an observer on Earth. In reality, according to the Heidelberg astronomer Jäger, the planets are millions or even billions of kilometers apart.

For example, from our perspective, Venus and Saturn are currently close to each other. The true spatial distance between the two is almost 1.5 billion kilometers, says Jäger. “As far as we’re concerned, they’re just along the line of sight together.” Only five of the planets in our solar system can even be seen with the naked eye under favorable conditions: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

This is the best way to observe the planetary parade

To see the parade of planets, you should look for a place with a dark sky – i.e. with as little light pollution as possible – and a clear view of the horizon. Tall buildings, hills or trees may obscure the planets. With a suitable location, any clear, cloudless night over the next six weeks is ideal for observing the planets.

It is best to look towards the south. Venus and Saturn shine in the southwest, Jupiter further south and Mars in the southeast or east. The planets shine brighter than the stars and do not twinkle. Mars appears as a reddish-orange dot.

The optimal observation time is shortly after sunset until around 9:30 p.m. You can also use one of the many astronomy apps to help you locate the planets more easily.

Is such a planetary parade something special?

Planetary parades are quite common. It is not uncommon for several planets to be visible together in the night sky and to be in a “line.” A meeting of three planets can be observed about once a year, while four planets line up only every few years.

According to Klaus Jäger, a planetary parade with five or more planets only occurs every one to two decades. But this only applies if the planets are visible in the sky at the same time. It happens often that some planets are visible in the evening sky and others in the morning sky.

So it might be worth taking a look at the southern night sky these days. The special thing about the 2025 constellation is that, with a bit of luck, four of the six planets can be seen with the naked eye.