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This month , six planets in thesolar system — Mars , Jupiter , Uranus , Venus , Neptune and Saturn — will appear in Earth ’s skies in a " parade of planets . "
Although the grim hour of Jan. 25 will be a good time to see it , as various medium outlets have advertise , this sight will not be cut back to one or two nights . It will be potential to see a elephantine arc of planets any clear nighttime in January ( and it was visible in December , too ) . And , in fact , an even greater opportunity lies in the months ahead , when yet another satellite join the " parade . "
A planetary parade will be seen from January through March 2025.
Which planets will be visible in January?
Jan. 25 is a good time to search at the bow of planet because the moon will be a svelte , wan crescent . That clears the room for dark evening skies , though easy pollution wo n’t hamper views of the shining planets .
On Jan. 25 , it will be possible to seeSaturnandVenusclose to each other in the west with Jupiter gleam above in the south and Mars ( fresh fromits bright opposition on Jan. 15 ) above in the east . Uranus will be just to the right hand of Jupiter , while Neptune will be right above Venus . To see Uranus and Neptune , however , you ’ll need apowerful backyard telescope .
If there ’s heavy swarm blanket near you or you have to lose the parade for some other reason , the Virtual Telescope Project will be host afree live streamof the issue beginning at 12:30 autopsy ET on Saturday .
Related : The 10 best stargazing events of 2025
A newcomer joins in March
The effect will be striking — but an even great sight can be had in the first week of March , when Mercury will join the affray .
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As Mercury closes in on its greatest elongation east ( farthest from the sun in Earth ’s sky ) on March 8 , the tiny inner planet will be between Saturn and Venus skinny to the westerly horizon . For good quantity , you ’ll also see a slim crescent moon just above the trio . Neptune , though inconspicuous to the nude eye , will be alongside Mercury . Above will be Uranus ( not seeable without a telescope ) , Jupiter and Mars .
However , the parade will eventually come to an ending , with Saturn sinking into the Sunday ’s glare . It will be in solar conjunction on March 12 , effectively end any chance of a parade of planets .
While they will all share the nighttime sky at the same time , the planet are not align during these parades , as is often mistakenly claim . All of the planets orbit thesolar systemon the same sheet , call the ecliptic . The ecliptic is the same path the sun take in the daytime sky . As seen from Earth , whatever is on one side of the solar system of rules is visible in the even sky , and everything on the opposite side is present in the dawning sky . However , whatever planets are seeable and always seen along the ecliptic are always in some sort of a short letter .
