Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Neil Shaw

Five planets to line up in dawn parade this weekend

Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn will line up at dawn on Saturday, with some visible to the naked eye.

Early risers with a good view of the horizon will get the best chance of spotting the alignment, also known as a planetary parade.

While Jupiter and Saturn will be easy to spot, Neptune and Uranus may require binoculars and Mercury will be visible for a short space of time.

Don Pollacco, a professor at the University of Warwick’s Department of Physics, said: “While Jupiter and Saturn will be easy to spot by eye, Mercury will be more challenging as its proximity to the sun means that it is only just above the horizon and visible about an hour before sunrise.

“Neptune and Uranus need binoculars to be sure of seeing them – although some keen-sighted people can see Uranus unaided.

“Jupiter and Saturn will be bright objects that have a yellowy colour, Mercury often looks pink, and Uranus and Neptune pale white-green.”

Alignments occur when the planets in the solar system are all roughly positioned in the same direction when viewed from Earth.

Saturn will be the first to rise, followed by Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Mercury.

Prof Pollacco said: “Given that we understand the orbits of the planets, we can predict when these ‘alignments’ will occur.

“While the planets may look relatively close together in the sky they are of course separated by many millions of miles.”

The next five-planet alignment will take place on April 20 2024, which will be a morning parade with Venus, Mercury, Neptune, Mars, and Saturn.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.