Meg Walters, Ali Pantony
A rare astronomical event is set to occur next month. On June 3rd, there will be a planetary alignment and you may actually be able to see six planets align in the sky. So, if you missed the magical display of the Northern Lights recently, you could get another chance to witness something truly special in the night’s sky in just a few weeks.
We spoke to Kate Pattle, a lecturer at University College London’s Physics & Astronomy Department, to find out a little more about the planetary alignment, and our best chances of seeing Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the sky together.
What is a planetary alignment?
“A planetary alignment is an astronomical event that happens when, by coincidence, the orbits of several of the planets of the Solar System bring them to roughly the same side of the Sun at the same time,” explains Kate. “This means that they appear in a line on the sky, when we view them from the Earth. In this case, the planets Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune and Saturn will form a line across the sky, in that order.”
Kate points out that, in this instance, ‘planetary alignment’ refers to the planets visibly lining up in the sky—also known as a ‘planetary parade’—but they won’t be in actual orbital alignment. “It’s important to emphasise that the planets aren’t forming a straight line in space—that’s a much rarer astronomical event called a syzygy,” she says. “However, because all the planets—including the Earth—orbit around the Sun in roughly the same orientation (moving in which we call the “Plane of the Ecliptic”), when they’re on the same side of the Sun as each other, they appear to form a line in the sky when we view them from Earth.”
Kate also emphasises that although the planets’ orbits have brought them to the same side of the Sun as each other, they aren’t actually close to each in space. “They’re still millions of miles apart,” she adds.
When do the planets align?
The planets are due to line up in the sky in the early morning hours of Monday June 3rd 2024.
How common is a planetary alignment?
Visual planetary alignment, or planetary parade, are quite common, particularly if you’re talking about two, three or even four planets lining up in the sky. However, it’s less common to see five or more planets aligning.