Stargazers and amateur astronomy lovers alike are all in for a treat this evening as five planets will line up in the sky, all of which will be visible with the naked eye.
The five planets, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars, were all visible in the night sky last night and will also be visible again tonight (Tuesday, March 28) after sunset, which occurs in Ireland at 8:01pm this evening.
However, if space lovers miss the celestial event tonight, they don’t need to worry as the planets will still be visible for the coming nights, although Jupiter will become increasingly less visible as the nights go on.
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From the best spot to view the planets to the optimum time to crane your neck upwards, here is everything you need to know about how to watch the stunning event in the sky this evening.
What equipment is needed?
Thankfully, no specialist equipment is needed to catch the majority of the beautiful celestial event. However, some of the planets, such as Mercury and Uranus, may require a small telescope or binoculars to view.
Jake Foster, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, explained to Sky News that the remaining planets, Venus, Jupiter and Mars will be "easily visible from the naked eye" tonight.
The astronomer added to the publication: "If you face towards the western horizon, you should be able to see with the naked eye, so without any specialist equipment, three planets in a neat line across the sky, along with the moon.
"If you have a telescope or a pair of binoculars, possibly even five planets and the moon."
Where will the planets be visible?
As the planets are visible to the naked eye, they will be visible from essentially any point in the night sky.
To spot them, look towards the western horizon and you should be able to see the planets, which will stretch from where the horizon begins to around halfway up the sky.
Although clouds and other weather phenomena may upset visibility, the planets will be viewable from anywhere in the sky.
Why does this happen?
The stunning arrangement of planetary bodies occurs a few times a year with different planets taking part in the line-up. Foster further explained that this occurs as the solar system is a flat disc shape and the planets orbit the same flat region, meaning every so often different planets align.
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