Don’t Miss: Parade of six planets viewable this weekend, total lunar eclipse Tuesday
Six planets will come together and align in a planetary parade in celestial event that peaks Saturday, followed by a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday.
Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will be…
Six planets will come together and align in a planetary parade in celestial event that peaks Saturday, followed by a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday.
Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will be visible in the western sky shortly after sunset on Saturday, NASA says. Neptune and Uranus will also be aligned, but not visible without special tools like telescopes or binoculars.
Venus and Jupiter are notorious for glowing brightly, according to National Geographic.
“If it’s twinkling, it’s a star,” planetary scientist Sara Mazrouei told AP News. “ If it is not twinkling, it’s a planet.”
A planetary parade happens “when multiple planets are visible in the sky at the same time,” National Geographic says. The planets don’t necessarily make a straight line in the sky but rather a loose arc, sometimes reaching across the whole horizon.
The last lineup with six planets happened in January 2025 and a four-planet alignment happened last August.
“What makes each one feel special is simply the chance to see so many worlds in a single sweep of sky,” National Geographic says.
The planetary march isn’t the only astronomical wonder to be seen in the next few days. A total lunar eclipse will be visible from anywhere in the U.S. Tuesday, March 3, according to National Geographic.
Celestial spectacles such as these bear a message beyond the physical world, according to Christian astrophysicist Deborah Haarsma.
“The natural world displays God’s glory,” she said in a lecture last month. “Psalm 19 says the heavens declare the glory of God.”
When looking at the stars and earth’s galaxy, Haarsma says, “I think everybody feels a sense of wonder, whether they’re religious or not, whether they know God or not. But for those of us who are believers, it goes this extra level because this is the same God that we know in our hearts and worship.”
