Mark your calendars for the final week of February, as a result of one of many coolest celestial occasions is coming round once more: Six planets shall be seen within the evening sky on the identical time. This phenomenon, referred to as a planet parade, happens only some occasions a 12 months.
This explicit planet parade will embrace Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It is only one planet shy of the total set, a phenomenon that’s fairly uncommon and most recently happened a year ago, in February 2025. You will want a telescope to see all the pieces, particularly since a lot of it’s going to happen proper at nightfall, which is able to make a couple of of the planets more durable to see.
When will the planet parade occur?
The Northern Hemisphere will get its greatest glimpse on the planet parade round sundown over the last week of February. This one shall be notably difficult for skywatchers due to gentle air pollution, as recognizing planets with the solar even partially up is harder. Your greatest wager is round 6:45 p.m. native time, and your window shall be exceedingly quick. Mercury and Venus drop under the horizon roughly 30 to 45 minutes later, in order that’s on a regular basis you will have.
The excellent news is that Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune are all clustered collectively towards the western horizon close to the setting solar. Venus and Mercury shall be proper subsequent to one another, and Saturn and Neptune shall be clumped collectively close by. That ought to make the 4 of them a bit bit simpler to identify, which is a boon for skygazers given the quick window.
Jupiter and Uranus would be the best to identify and can stay within the sky lengthy after the opposite 4 planets have dipped under the horizon. Uranus will journey throughout the southern sky alongside the Taurus constellation earlier than dropping under the western horizon a couple of hours after midnight. Jupiter will observe a really comparable path to Uranus, however it’s hanging out with the Gemini constellation.
All informed, the very best dates to view the planet parade within the US, Canada and Mexico are Feb. 21 to twenty-eight. Earlier than Feb. 21, Venus and Mercury shall be too near the solar. As soon as March begins, Mercury will drift nearer to the solar once more, dipping under the horizon earlier than it is readily seen. As soon as that occurs, the five-planet parade will proceed for about one other week or so earlier than Neptune and Saturn dip under the horizon, thus ending the parade and leaving solely Venus, Jupiter and Uranus seen within the sky.
Will the planet parade be seen in my area?
Sure. We checked Stellarium’s sky map from a number of areas throughout the US, Mexico and Canada, and the planet parade was seen in each place we checked. In response to Star Walk, the parade shall be seen in all places from Tokyo to London. We additionally checked the Southern Hemisphere, and it will be seen there as nicely. The dates range based mostly on location, however most locations ought to be capable of see it in some unspecified time in the future between Feb. 21 and Feb. 28.
How can I discover the assorted planets within the sky?
The picture above provides you a common thought of the place they will be in relation to 1 one other, however the very best factor to do is take a look at a sky map and plan forward. We suggest Stellarium’s sky map if you happen to’re on a desktop and Stellarium Cellular (Android and iOS) if you happen to’re utilizing your phone.
We suggest discovering Venus first as a result of it is the simplest planet to identify out of the 4 which can be close to the solar. You possibly can then use the app to search out the opposite three. Jupiter and Uranus are alone within the evening sky and can stay there after the opposite 4 dip under the horizon, so we suggest discovering these final, since they will be round longer.
Will I want any particular tools to view the parade?
Sure. With 4 of the planets near the solar, it’s going to make them exhausting to identify with the bare eye, due to the sunshine air pollution. Uranus and Neptune are not possible to see and not using a magnification system of some kind, even in whole darkness. A telescope is very really useful. Astronomers suggest a minimal aperture of 8 inches and 50x magnification to get the very best outcomes. That’s sturdy sufficient to see the rings of Uranus and Saturn. You want a telescope with roughly 150 occasions magnification to peep the rings on Neptune.
The standard area viewing ideas additionally apply. Get away from the town to a spot with as little gentle air pollution as doable, because you’re already combating the solar to see this stuff. And be very cautious to not level your telescope on the solar, since that may harm your eyes. Attempt to decide an evening with as little cloud cowl as doable.
The primary of three planet parades in 2026
Planet parades are unusual, however typically the universe smiles on Earth. This 12 months goes to be actually good for planet parades, as three are anticipated in 2026. February is the primary one. The opposite two are slated for April (5 planets) and August (six planets). Meaning there are two extra possibilities to observe a planet parade in 2026 if you need to miss the one in February.
