Look up! Six planets grace the sky this month in what’s known as a "planetary parade," and most will be able to be seen with the naked eye.
These planetary hangouts happen when several planets appear to align in the night sky at once.
“They’re not in a straight line, but they’re pretty close together on one side of the sun,” said Hannah Sparkes, planetarium supervisor at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Florida.
The astronomical linkup is fairly common and can happen at least every year depending on the number of planets. A similar parade took place last June, but only two planets could be seen without any special equipment.
Here's what to know about January's six planet alignment, which planets will be visible and more.
Which planets will be visible?
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are visible to the naked eye in January and for part of February. Uranus and Neptune can be spotted too, but only by using binoculars and telescopes.
Local
"Venus will outshine all the stars in the sky spotted in the West after sunset setting towards the horizon and find Saturn nearby," Hunter Miller, an astronomy educator with the Adler Planetarium said. "Jupiter will be nearly as bright as Venus rising high in the southern sky as the night progresses."
Dusty red Mars can be located rising from the eastern horizon, Miller said.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Easiest and best ways to see the planets
The best times for viewing the parade are in mid-January, in the afternoon hours between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Miller said.
"The optimal timing and location of the planets in the sky will vary slightly throughout the month, so I recommend utilizing a sky observing app like Stellarium to know exactly where to look from your location at any given time," Miller told NBC Chicago.
Any clear, cloudless night this month is ideal to spot the planets. To get in on the sighting, go outside on a clear night a few hours after sunset and face south, said Kevin Williams, planetarium director at Buffalo State University.
Venus and Saturn will glow in the southwestern sky, with Jupiter in the southern sky and Mars in the southeast or east. The planets will shine brighter than the stars, and Mars will look like a reddish-orange dot.
A faint Mercury is set to join the parade as a bonus seventh planet at the end of February, and the planets will slowly make their exit through the spring.
According to Miller, it's important to note that planets appear similar to stars to the naked eye.
"You won't see a large disc of a planet with just your eyes, but rather just a point of light," Miller said.
Why is this alignment rare?
According to Astronomer Dean Regas, the planet parade of 2025 will be special for a few reasons.
Those reasons, which he wrote in the Farmers Almanac, include:
- More planets will be visible in 2025 than recent parades and they'll be visible during the evening hours, as opposed to early morning viewing times
- Stars and planets appear brighter in winter months compared to hazier summer skies
In addition to the above, a lunar occultation with Mars is particularly noteworthy in itself. The planet is only in opposition once every 26 months. The last lunar occultation of Mars took place in 2022.
