Did you see the “Great Planet Parade” of 2025? If not, it’s not too late — but you’ll need to act quickly.
Although there are no longer seven planets in the post-sunset night sky, five are still with us, and four of them are visible to the naked eye. But not for long.
Here’s everything you need to know to see the planets this week:
How To See The ‘Planet Parade’
Five planets are currently in the post-sunset night sky. From east to west, there’s Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury and Venus. However, Uranus is not visible to the naked eye. Saturn and Neptune were also part of the planet parade, but they’ve since sunk into the sun’s glare. Saturn passed around the far side of the sun on March 12, and can now be seen emerging into the pre-dawn night sky.
Be outside 45 minutes after sunset and look to the western sky for Venus and Mercury, and high above for Jupiter and Mars.
Last Chance To See Venus
What’s already happened to Saturn is about to happen to Venus, the brightest and most impressive star in the twilight night sky. It will pass into the sun’s glare over the next few nights as it nears what astronomers call its inferior conjunction with the sun. That happens on March 22, when Venus passes roughly in front of the sun as it laps Earth on the inside. Mercury will also soon be lost from the night sky.
If you can find or borrow any small telescope, point it at Venus, which is currently a very slim curved crescent. Such is it’s slimness and low position in the night sky that Earth’s atmosphere is acting as a prism, splitting its light into a rainbow of colors — a magical sight! We see Venus as a crescent as it gets closer to Earth in its orbit, causing a smaller portion of its illuminated side to be visible.
‘Planetary Parade’ Or ‘Planetary Alignment?’
The phenomenon of multiple planets in the night sky simultaneously has been called a planetary alignment, but it’s more accurately called a planetary parade. Planets are always aligned in the night sky since they all orbit roughly along the same plane — essentially a line in the sky called the ecliptic. It’s therefore an entirely visual line-of-sight phenomenon, though to have the night sky so busy with planets is said not to have happened for 40 years and won’t be repeated until 2036.
When is The Next ‘Planetary Parade?’
Although Venus and Mercury will soon depart, Jupiter and Mars still have legs. Both now high in the sky after dark, Jupiter shines brightly among the stars of Taurus and close to the Pleiades (or Seven Sisters) open cluster of stars, while Mars is shining close to the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux.
The next planetary parade of note, featuring six planets, will be best seen before sunrise on Aug. 29, 2025, though it will not include Mars.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
