The planets of the solar system lined up in the sky on Wednesday night in an astronomical phenomenon that was visible from Earth, known as the “paradise of the planets”.
A phenomenon that was also visible on Tuesday night, the sky of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn was seen with the naked eye. With a pair of binoculars or a telescope, Uranus and Neptune could also be seen.
A planetary parade is not very rare – it tends to happen at least every two years. In fact, it was the last night of the eight-planet the month of June.
To see the phenomenon, it was recommended that you watch in the afternoon after sunset. The planets appeared in this order from east to west: Mars, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury, Venus.
“People should look at sunset about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset to catch Mercury and Venus before they are too close to the horizon to observe,” said Vahé Peromian, a professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Southern California. “Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars will be visible when it is dark, from east to east.”
The planets can appear in the same part of the sky at the same time in their orbits around the sun, Peromian News told CBS.
“Mercury completes one orbit in 88 days, and Venus in 225 days. The outer planets move much more slowly: Jupiter takes 12 years to orbit the Sun, Saturn takes 29,” he said. “So long as Jupiter and Saturn are visible, which happens unless you are on opposite sides from our side of the Sun, then the rest of the planets finally line up.”
It is a great feat for Neptune and Uranus to appear at the same time as 165 years and 84 years in their orbit around the sun.
Both planets “have been seeing opposite sides of the Sun for a long time,” Peromian said.
On Wednesday night, Uranus and Neptune were close to each other, but because Uranus moves the Sun twice as fast as Neptune, the planets are far apart, he said.
As a result, “it will not be possible to see both planets in the night sky at the same time for several decades,” Peromian added.
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