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| Five planets to line up in night sky | Five planets to line up in night sky |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars should all be easily visible, however Uranus and Mercury might be more of a challenge | Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars should all be easily visible, however Uranus and Mercury might be more of a challenge |
| Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars, and the Moon will align in an arc across the evening sky on Monday, with some visible to the naked eye. | Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars, and the Moon will align in an arc across the evening sky on Monday, with some visible to the naked eye. |
| This is often called "a planetary parade" and will be visible after sunset in the west. | This is often called "a planetary parade" and will be visible after sunset in the west. |
| A good view of the horizon and clear skies will offer the best chance of spotting the alignment. | A good view of the horizon and clear skies will offer the best chance of spotting the alignment. |
| Last summer Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn came together in a rare planetary conjunction. | Last summer Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn came together in a rare planetary conjunction. |
| "To the naked eye, even from a bright city, Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars should be easily visible. Uranus should be visible with a medium-sized telescope, and Mercury is that added challenge for the very determined," said astronomer Jake Foster from Royal Observatory Greenwich. | "To the naked eye, even from a bright city, Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars should be easily visible. Uranus should be visible with a medium-sized telescope, and Mercury is that added challenge for the very determined," said astronomer Jake Foster from Royal Observatory Greenwich. |
| He said that such alignments were very particular to our perspective from Earth. | He said that such alignments were very particular to our perspective from Earth. |
| "The planets aren't aligned right now, they are all spread out across the Solar System but just from our perspective, every once in a while they get close enough to each other in the sky that we're able to see quite a few at once," he said. | "The planets aren't aligned right now, they are all spread out across the Solar System but just from our perspective, every once in a while they get close enough to each other in the sky that we're able to see quite a few at once," he said. |
| Give yourself the best shot at spotting them by getting away from any bright city lights as the Sun is going down. Go somewhere with a clear, unobstructed view. You need to be observing early in the evening because Mercury and Jupiter will quickly disappear over the horizon. | Give yourself the best shot at spotting them by getting away from any bright city lights as the Sun is going down. Go somewhere with a clear, unobstructed view. You need to be observing early in the evening because Mercury and Jupiter will quickly disappear over the horizon. |
| The easiest way to know whether you're looking at planets or stars is by looking at what type of light they are emitting. | The easiest way to know whether you're looking at planets or stars is by looking at what type of light they are emitting. |
| "Stars twinkle but planets don't. So if you are are seeing a bright light that is steady and not flickering or twinkling and not blinking - because that might be a plane - then you are almost certainly looking at one of those planets," said Mr Foster. | "Stars twinkle but planets don't. So if you are are seeing a bright light that is steady and not flickering or twinkling and not blinking - because that might be a plane - then you are almost certainly looking at one of those planets," said Mr Foster. |
| Are you planning to view the five planets in alignment? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | |
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| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Astronomy | Astronomy |
| Planets | Planets |