Phenomenon of the planetary parade, where this planet can be clearly visible to the naked eye

NewsInternational – Astronomers and sky watchers alike captured some spectacular images of the rare astronomical event late last year in which every planet in the solar system appeared in the night sky simultaneously.

Reported by dailymail.co.uk on January 4, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen with the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune can be seen with binoculars or a telescope.

The astronomer Dr. Gianluca Masi shared photos he took of five planets visible to the naked eye, while other skygazers around the world also snapped photos of the ‘parade of planets’.

He snapped it from the roof of a building in Rome, Italy on Saturday night, using a camera with a special lens.

Starting on the southwest horizon and moving east, the photo shows Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in that order.

The other seven planets of our solar system will continue to be visible for the next two nights, only Uranus and Neptune need a telescope or binoculars to be visible.

Dr Masi, who works with the Virtual Telescope Project, told media: ‘The opportunity to see all planetary families at a glance doesn’t come often.’

“We can get a better idea of ​​where in the world we live by looking at other planets.”

“We have only a few days to see this parade before Mercury disappears into the sun.”

This week, Twitter users from all over the world, including Japan and the United States, shared photos from the show online.

This phenomenon is known to occur every two years.

All the planets appear in the night sky as tiny points of light to stargazers in the northern hemisphere.

Mercury is the hardest planet to see without magnification, because it is in the brightest part of the sky, but it can be seen close to the much brighter Venus, which eclipses it by 70 times.

the two reached conjunction — their closest point — at 21:00 GMT (4:00 PM ET), and won’t appear so close again until 2024.

They can be seen in the lower west and will have their best view about half an hour after sunset, with Venus disappearing about 40 minutes later.

The rest of the planets align due east, with Jupiter appearing brightest of all the stars and high in the southern sky.

While the largest planet in our solar system disappears just before midnight, Mars is visible all night after rising in the east just before sunset.

It will appear red and brighter than most stars, while its neighbor Saturn will be a golden color when it appears to the southwest after dark.

The ringed planet will set around 8pm GMT (3pm ET), but the images always come earlier as the month progresses.

The moon also joins the planetary formation, appearing as a crescent between Jupiter and Saturn tonight.

With magnifying equipment, Uranus can be seen between Mars and Jupiter and Neptune between Saturn and Jupiter.

Dr Masi told the media: ‘We still have a few days to try and see the alignment of the planet.’

“The important thing is to choose a viewpoint that offers an unobstructed view of the western horizon, where Venus and Mercury will be very low.”

“To see this parade of planets just look up as soon as the sun sets; once the sky is dark enough to see, on the southwest horizon, the planet Venus, which is easy to find, becomes very bright.

“So Mercury is a few degrees away from it, a few days down the line, but much dimmer.”

“It should be visible to the naked eye before sunset, but binoculars will make it easier to see the inner planets.”

“Then we have Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, plus a moon not far from Jupiter.”

“The binoculars will also show Uranus and Neptune, so the entire planetary system can be explored in minutes.”

The five worlds shine in succession as they all revolve in the plane of the solar system, known as the ecliptic.

A ‘planetary parade’ last seen from England in June then also followed by the crescent moon.

The five planets visible to the naked eye all appear in descending order of distance from the sun, an order not seen for 18 years.