Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars will appear in the same part of the sky from nightfall, giving the illusion of their alignment. The ideal evening of observing is scheduled for Tuesday 28th, binoculars in hand.
Starting this Saturday, March 25, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars offer amateurs a beautiful optical illusion: that of their planetary alignment in the night sky, which can be observed for several days, weather permitting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXmWoy94tA
The star parade of the solar system
The affair begins at nightfall after a ballet, during which they take turns on stage and face west. The parade begins with Mercury and Jupiter, followed by the appearance of Venus, Mars, and Uranus, with the five planets of the solar system falling into this alignment for a brief moment before Mercury and Jupiter disappear fairly quickly an hour after dark.
Jupiter and Mercury, explains astronomy website Starwalk, will be “located in the constellation of Pisces, separated by about one degree. Higher in the sky, Venus will shine in the constellation of Aries,” near Uranus, which will require the use of binoculars will be necessary. It will be “at a distance of about 2° from Venus. Mars will join the alignment higher in the sky, near the first quarter Moon in the constellation of Gemini.”
Five planets will be visible from Earth this month, a great planetary alignment not to be missed! https://t.co/NODtHh6EMm pic.twitter.com/ARUtt8IW0g
—Abdulsatar Bochnak (@AbdulsatarBoch1) March 23, 2023
Tuesday, ideal evening if the weather cooperates
Specifically, Sud Ouest explains: “To see Jupiter and Mercury, you have to look down, at the horizon”. Venus, Le Figaro continues, will be the easiest to isolate because the evening star is “the third brightest object in the sky.” If you look up you should find “Uranus being close and Mars joining the alignment higher in the sky.”
This alignment, which actually corresponds to the simultaneous grouping of the five stars on the same side of the Sun, will be visible starting Saturday. It is “easiest” to watch on Tuesday and repeats until dusk on Wednesday evening. However, Sud Ouest and Starwalk remind us, “It remains a visual phenomenon. These planets aren’t really aligned in space. It’s all a matter of vantage point and view” from Earth.