Special Events
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE PLANETARY ALIGNMENT?
HERE IS HOW TO SEE THE PLANET PARADE through March 8, 2025
People keep calling about this weekend's planetary alignment; asking when and where they can observe it.
Poorly worded articles and illustrations make some people think the planets are lined up outward from the Sun in a straight line. If we look down on the Solar System from above, we can see the planets are all on the same side of the Sun as seen from Earth. They are not lined up in a row as shown above.
In the interest of helping media and others who want to see a PLANET PARADE between February 28 and March 8, 2025, here are several scenarios created using Stellarium desktop software which you can download for free at http://stellarium.org/. Read more about Stellarium below.
Technically, all the planets will be in the sky at sunset on February 28, 2025, when the Sun drops below the western horizon. This illustration shows the view if the Earth did not have an atmosphere.
All those planets will not be visible because Earth does have an atmosphere.
Earth's atmosphere and any dust or moisture in the air scatter the light from the Sun giving us our beautiful blue skies and the colors of sunset and sunrise. The atmospheric glow of sunset and twilight will make Saturn impossible to see because it is so close to the horizon. Meanwhile, Venus will be the first 'star' visible; beaming brightly high in the west. It's times like this when the planet Venus might be mistaken for an airplane or reported as a UFO.
Mercury is always challenging to spot because it never gets very far away from the Sun as seen from Earth. Binoculars can help you catch a glimpse of Mercury against the bright sky even just 30 minutes after sundown, but you need a clear, cloud and haze free horizon with few or no trees. You can also hunt for Jupiter and Mars, but they will be much better later in the evening, weather permitting.
For comparison, here is the view without Earth's atmosphere.
Go outside about 90 minutes after sunset, and the sky will be darker. Venus is lower in the west while Jupiter sits high in the south appearing as another bright, steady, star-like object. These Stellarium maps will help you distinguish between the stars and the planets and lead you to discover ‘not so bright’ Mars high in the south-southeast.
Now, imagine if we could get to a high-altitude location, away from all the light pollution, where the sky is clear and dry. Or just turn off Earth’s atmosphere. You might even reveal the hazy band of the Milky Way arching across the star-filled sky.
Instead of hosting telescope observing the weekend of March 1, 2025, the Cernan Earth and Space Center and Chicago Astronomical Society will be setting up telescopes on the evening of Saturday, March 8, 2025, starting at 6:30PM. If the sky is mostly cloudy, the observing will be canceled.
You'll have a chance to marvel at Venus before the trees get in the way. Bring your binoculars to try for Mercury. You might get lucky if the sky is clear and dry. We make no guarantees. Note, there are some professional astronomers who have never seen Mercury with their own eyes. Even though it's not completely dark, Jupiter and the Moon will soon become excellent telescope targets.
By 730PM, Venus will be gone, but there is MUCH more to enjoy. How much we can see depends on how steady and clear the atmosphere is. Jupiter and its four largest moons make a pretty grouping seen through a telescope. Nearby is the Pleiades star cluster, which some call the ‘micro dipper’. On top of that, the first quarter Moon is always a wonderful sight through binoculars and telescopes, and Mars will be easy to locate because it is conveniently positioned next to the Moon.
If the weather does not cooperate on this date or you already have another commitment, keep an eye our special events page to see the schedule for upcoming star parties a.k.a. telescope observing. The Chicago Astronomical Society hosts their monthly meetings at the Cernan Earth and Space Center.
If you want to really explore what is up in the night sky OR just find out what constellations and planets will be visible in the evening when you go camping in September 2026, Stellarium is a free, open source, planetarium program for your desktop computer. Download the app or use the online interface at http://stellarium-web.org/.
Users can set their exact location, date and time and see almost everything potentially visible in the sky, naked eye or through a telescope. And not just from the Earth. See the sunrise on Mars or the other planets from Saturn.
The next meeting of the Chicago Astronomical Society will be Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Click on image for downloadable PDF.