How to watch 5 planets align in the night sky on Tuesday
Five planets will align in the night sky on Tuesday evening in a stunning astronomical spectacle. The alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus will be visible starting on Tuesday and mostly continue through Friday, CNN reports.
The planets will appear "kind of like pearls on a necklace," according to Cameron Hummels, a computational astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology. According to experts, Tuesday is the best day to see the sight and binoculars may be necessary, especially to see Mercury and Uranus which are dimmer than the others, per The Associated Press.
The phenomenon can be seen from both the northern and southern hemispheres as long as there are clear skies and a view of the west. Venus will be the easiest planet to see, being the brightest of the bunch. In order to see all five planets, you should look at the sky just after sunset, because Jupiter and Mercury will dip below the horizon just after, according to NASA astronomer Bill Cooke.
Planetary alignments appear every so often, with the last five-planet one occurring last summer and another one coming up in June with different planets, per AP. This one is rare because much of it can be seen with the naked eye even in areas with light pollution. In February, Jupiter and Venus crossed paths in the night sky.
"That's the beauty of these planetary alignments. It doesn't take much" to enjoy, Cooke remarked.