Planetary alignment is a phenomenon where other planets in our solar system align from Earth’s perspective. It is a rare event with some alignments occurring once in 100 years.
Currently Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars are aligned and visible, offering some unique viewing experiences even in light polluted areas. Neptune and Uranus are also in the alignment but a telescope is needed to view those. During late February, all seven planets will be visible in the night sky creating the “Great Planet Parade”. The best time to view this will be on February 24 or 25 about 35 to 45 minutes after sunset to ensure Saturn and Mercury are visible. During this event Saturn and Mercury will be very close to each other in the Eastern sky, with the rest of the planets sweeping from west to east. When trying to determine if you are seeing the planets or stars here are some tips. Some planets appear brighter than stars, and planets rarely twinkle.
Planetary alignments are linked with important events in history. One event was the launching of Voyager 1 and 2 to allow for close range pictures of the outer planets. There were also once beliefs amongst our ancestors that planetary alignments were a display of the gods and could mean world destruction. Many cultures began recording the alignments to study them. Some prominent civilizations include the Mayans and the Babylonians.
Since those times our knowledge of space has vastly increased. Now the planetary alignments offer scientists a unique experimental opportunity. The orbits of planets can be predicted through mathematical equations and often our technology is calibrated to the predicted positions of the planets and not their actual positions. Since there is currently a physical alignment, astronomers can gather experimental data to compare the predicted and actual positions to recalibrate, also known as nudging. When the data shows scientists are off in their predictions it can lead to new discoveries, like discovering new planets. Neptune was discovered this way through measured discrepancies in Uranus’s orbit.
Planetary alignments of a few planets are frequent with more occurring on April 15th and August 11th this year. If you’ve never tried astro-photography, now might be a great opportunity to learn a new skill and create a memorable picture.
Music written and produced by Kenny Mihelich. Western Slope Skies is produced by the Colorado Mesa University Astronomy Club, the Western Slope Dark Sky Coalition, and KVNF Community Radio. This feature was written and voiced by Jaxon Potts.”
