A ‘planetary parade’ begins in the sky this weekend, but has it been overhyped?

Devarrick Turner, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read

Look up at the night sky March 28 and you might see a pretty cool phenomenon happening. No, it won’t be unidentified aerial phenomena (this time), but you could see up to five identifiable planets.

Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus will appear in a “planetary parade” beginning March 25. The planets will align in a visible arc above the western horizon until March 30, according to Science Alert.

March 28, just after sunset, will be the best night to observe the celestial event, according to Star Walk, an astronomy app and website. Most of the planets will be visible with the naked eye, but a few might require strong binoculars or a telescope for optimal viewing.

How will the planetary parade appear in Knoxville?

While the event could make for fun stargazing, many viewers might miss out this go around.

“Unfortunately, the (March 28) rendition of a ‘planetary parade’ has been overhyped in my opinion,” Sean Lindsay, astronomy coordinator at the University of Tennessee, told Knox News.

“I love that attention is being given to encourage people to look up at our night skies and planets, but this one is a difficult one to observe,” he said.

Lindsay and UT’s astronomy outreach liaison, Paul Lewis, agree Jupiter, and Mercury – already the faintest of naked-eye planets – will be hard to see because they’ll appear just above the horizon after sunset. And after about 10 minutes, they’ll disappear.

And Uranus “requires the darkest of skies with optimum seeing conditions not typical of the Knoxville area,” Lewis noted.

“That leaves Venus and Mars as the two easily observable planets in the planetary parade, which can be seen right now, every evening,” Lindsay added.

“I'm sorry to burst the excitement bubble, but I am a strong advocate for making sure we popularize events that will be great for people to observe,” Lindsay said. “I try to dissuade people from getting excited about something, only to get outside and be disappointed.”

What is a planetary parade?

  • Planetary alignments are when several planets are close together on the same side of the sun, Star Walk reports.

  • A planetary parade happens when five or planets are visible in the sky at once.

  • Planetary parades are common, with one happening every year or so, Sean Lindsay noted.

When is the March 2023 planetary parade?

  • Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus will be aligned in the western sky March 25-30.

  • Optimum viewing of all five planets will be just moments after March 27 and March 28 sunsets.

  • Jupiter and Mercury will only be visible for a few minutes after sunset, if you’re lucky.

How to observe the planetary parade in Knoxville

  • The “parade” can be observed from Knoxville with some limitations, unfortunately.

  • Venus will be the easiest to spot because it’s the brightest of all naked-eye planets.

  • A flat horizon without small trees or buildings will be needed to best see Mercury and Jupiter before they dip below the horizon, Lindsay said.

  • Mars will appear bright red in the southwest sky according to Science Alert.

  • A good look at Uranus might require binoculars or a telescope.

Venus and Jupiter are seen in the western sky over Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday, Feb 26, 2023. The planets will appear together again in the March 2023 "planetary parade." Jupiter will only be briefly visible after sunset before dipping below the horizon.
Venus and Jupiter are seen in the western sky over Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday, Feb 26, 2023. The planets will appear together again in the March 2023 "planetary parade." Jupiter will only be briefly visible after sunset before dipping below the horizon.

More planetary alignments will occur this year

There will be more opportunities to observe planetary alignments in 2023 according to Star Walk, including another five-planet parade in June.

  • April 11: A small evening alignment of Mercury, Uranus, Venus and Mars.

  • April 24: A small evening alignment of Mercury, Uranus, Venus and Mars.

  • May 29: A small morning alignment of Uranus, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn.

  • June 17: A large morning alignment of Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn.

  • July 26: A mini-evening alignment of Mercury, Venus and Mars.

  • Aug. 24: Two small planetary alignments will occur at sunset and at night. Mercury, Mars and Saturn will be visible in the morning and Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn will be visible at night

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Planetary parade 2023 starts this weekend, but has it been overhyped?