Night sky lovers can typically spot a smattering of a few planets, but in late March, a stunning visual takes shape when five planets line up beneath the moon in a display sometimes called a planetary parade or alignment.Onlookers will be able to catch the best glimpse of the alignment — which will include Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus — on Tuesday evening, just after sunset.

Much of the display will become visible on Friday and will continue to be so over the next couple of weeks, according to Cameron Hummels, a computational astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology.

Alignments such as this one appear every few years or so, Hummels said, and much of it will be visible to the naked eye, even in urban areas with significant light pollution. And it can be spotted across the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

The arrangement will be visible just underneath the crescent moon. To spot the display, Hummels recommended heading out to a place with a good view of the western horizon just after sunset, when streaks of the colorful sunset still remain and the sky has turned dark blue but not yet black. (Tip: Those living far to the north should look slightly southwest, while those in the Southern Hemisphere should gaze northwest, Hummels said.)

The easiest planet to spot will be Venus, often referred to as the “evening star,” because it’s the brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon. Uranus will appear close to Venus, though it may be difficult to pick out the distant planet without binoculars or a telescope unless you’re viewing from a prime location with no light pollution.

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Last edited by Spunky (3/27/2023 8:39 pm)