Associate Professor David Armstrong on the rare seven planetary parade
Associate Professor David Armstrong, from the Department of Physics at The University of Warwick, says, “This week multiple planets will be visible in the sky at once. Friday 28th is the special date, with all 7 planets other than the Earth visible in the sky - if the night is clear! This ‘great planetary alignment’ won’t happen again until 2040, as it needs all the planets to be on the same side of the Sun.
The best time to see the planets in the UK is early in the evening just after sunset. You can see five of the planets with your own eyes, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Venus in particular is very bright, but Mars is noticeably red and Saturn yellow. With high powered binoculars or a telescope you might be able to see Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter’s moons or Saturn’s rings. There are good free apps which can show you the sky from where you are and help you find the planets.”