Six planets — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will appear in a dark night sky together for almost a week, beginning Sunday, Aug. 17. The fairly rare "planetary parade," which is sometimes mistakenly called a planetary alignment, will continue through Wednesday, Aug. 20.
The celestial gathering, last seen in February, will appear in the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise. Although most of these planets have been visible in the morning sky for weeks, Mercury will join the fray, bringing the planet count from five to six.
