THE BRIGHT SIDE
An alignment of six planets will dazzle in January 2025.
Six planets will be visible in the January night sky and yes, they’ll be in a line. Because planets always appear in a line from our Earth-bound vantage (referred to as the ‘plane of the ecliptic,’ the alignment isn’t anything totally out of the norm. What’s less common, according to astronomers, is seeing so many bright planets at once.
The planets in our solar system orbit the sun essentially along a line across the sky in a plane called the ecliptic. For that reason, planets in our Earthly sky always appear somewhere along a line. While alignments themselves aren’t special, what could be noteworthy for stargazers is the six planets that will be visible this month, including four with the naked eye. Such an event is commonly known as a “planet parade,” though NASA noted that the moniker is not a technical astronomical term. Planet parades are how astronomers and stargazers refer to the events when the planets form a straight line and look like they’re marching across the night sky.
Four bright planets and two faint planets will be visible in the night sky. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will be visible to the naked eye. spectators can find Venus and Saturn in the southwest for the first couple of hours, while Jupiter shines brightly high overhead and Mars rises in the east. Uranus and Neptune will also be around, but they won’t be appearing as brightly and will require a telescope to see, according to NASA.
Place of the Week
Tres Belle Boutique on Broad Street has great apparel. Stop in and stock up on a spring wardrobe.
