4 Planets to Line up This Week, Sky March to be Visible with Naked Eye
On April 23, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter will all be visible above the horizon in the early morning hours in the northern hemisphere.
Amazing things are in for a treat this week as Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will align in a brilliant sky march. The moon is lining up to lead a march of planets at the dawn sky starting on April 23. In advance of an unusual alignment of the five visible planets in the solar system, four planets will line up after the moon like ducks in the row.
When the Planets Align:
This alignment occurs when the planet orbits brings them to the same region of the sky, viewed from Earth. This wonderful alignment is not so rare, but also not regular. In 2020, the last time five planets aligned in the dark sky, acted by alignments in 2016 and 2005.
Venus, Mars, and Saturn have been neighbors since late March. On April 4 and 5, they came so close together, when viewed from Earth, that Mars and Saturn appeared less far apart than.
The planets will be visible in the northern hemisphere an hour to 45 minutes before sunrise. The moon will remain above the horizon until April 29, but the planets will remain in their cosmic line until early July. Mercury will appear in the line as early as June 10 leading to the final five-planet alignment.
Watching the Planetary Alignment
Uranus and Neptune will also be in the field of view in the Northern Hemisphere during that time. Uranus will be between Mercury and Mars and will be visible in areas without light pollution. It might be possible to see it with the naked eye, but binoculars will aid in observing it, Nichols said. Neptune will also require a telescope to view.