This week holds a special celestial treat in store for astronomers and amateur stargazers. Mercury will become the seventh planet to line up in a current “planetary parade” that’s happening, joining Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which have dazzled the night sky in their alignment since late January.
What is a planetary alignment? All eight planets in our solar system orbit the sun on the same flat plane, but at different speeds. Because of this, the planets are bound to line up with each other on occasion, NASA says. Contrary to popular belief, the planets don’t need to make a straight line in order for the event to be considered an “alignment,” according to Star Walk, a sky-gazing app.
Instead, an alignment happens when several of the planets just gather closely on one side of the Sun. In rare instances, like this current planetary parade, all of the planets will appear in the night sky simultaneously, with most visible to the naked eye. NASA says that a planetary alignment isn’t super rare, but because they don’t happen every year, they’re still notable to witness. The next planetary alignment won’t happen until Sept. 8, 2040.
Read More Story Source
