Tonight’s sky will feature all seven other planets in our solar system in alignment, a sight that won’t appear again until 2040, according to multiple media reports.
Our solar system is home to eight planets – at least since Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 – and the best time to see them in alignment in this part of the world will be 9 pm, says Hong Kong newspaper the Standard. Experts recommend spots with minimal light pollution and clear horizons for the best viewing.
While they may appear to be lined up in a neat row, this is an optical illusion that occurs due to the planets’ orbits around the Sun aligning along a flat plane known as the ecliptic. They don’t actually line up in three-dimensional space.
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Four of the seven planets will be visible to the naked eye – Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Saturn will be harder to see due to its position so close to the horizon, while a telescope will be needed to pick out Uranus and Neptune, the two planets farthest from the Sun.
The next seven-planet parade may not be until 2040, but shorter planetary parades will grace the skies before then. Another is expected in late August, although the number of planets involved varies by location, then again in October 2028 and February 2034.
As the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says on its website, “while they aren’t once-in-a-lifetime events, planetary parades afford an uncommon opportunity to look up and appreciate our place in the solar system, with diverse worlds arrayed across the sky before our very eyes.”
