How to see the alignment of seven planets this Friday

Star Walk, an astronomy app developed by Vito Technology, reported that Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars will appear together in a "planetary alignment" or a "planet parade" shortly after sunset on Friday.

"In the evening, just after sunset, seven planets — Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars — will align in the sky. Four of them (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars) will be easily visible to the naked eye. For Uranus and Neptune, get a pair of binoculars or a small telescope." the app explained on its official page.

Star Walk detailed that on March 15, 2080, six planets (Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Uranus) will be visible in the morning sky. This alignment is especially notable because it will feature the grand conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, which will be separated by only six arc minutes.

On May 19, 2161, all the planets of the Solar System, including Earth, will come together on one side of the Sun. The planetary alignment will be seen just before sunrise.

Likewise, the application indicated that the planetary alignment coincides with the new moon, so astronomy enthusiasts will have the perfect opportunity to see "fainter objects such as Uranus or Neptune."

In that sense, it was learned that the planetary alignment will be visible almost everywhere in the world on the night of Feb. 28. The site stressed that some locations will have better viewing conditions as the planets rise above the horizon. Saturn, for example, may not be visible from some locations.

"Catching all seven planets in the sky at once requires precise timing. Saturn will set early, so the observation window is short. The easiest way to find all the planets in the sky is to use the Planet Walk feature in the free Star Walk 2 app — a new tool designed for tracking planets and alignments," the app highlighted.

According to NASA, "while it is common to see two or three planets in the hours around sunset, sometimes four or five bright planets can be seen simultaneously with the naked eye. These events, often called 'planet parades' or 'planetary alignments,' can generate significant public interest. Although not extremely rare, they are worth observing, as they do not occur every year."