Every planet in the solar system visible in rare "planet parade" Wednesday - CBS News

The planets of the star strategy were lined up successful the entity Wednesday nighttime successful an astronomical phenomenon, disposable from Earth, known arsenic a "planet parade."  

The phenomenon, which was besides disposable Tuesday night, gave skywatchers a bully presumption of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the bare eye. With a brace of binoculars oregon a telescope, Uranus and Neptune could besides beryllium seen.

The satellite parade is not an highly uncommon occurrence — it tends to hap astatine slightest each mates of years. In fact, the eight-planet alignment past happened successful June.

In bid to spot the phenomenon, it was recommended you look southbound aft sunset. From eastbound to west, the planets appeared successful this order: Mars, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury, Venus. 

"People should look southward astir 30 to 45 minutes aft sunset to drawback Mercury and Venus earlier they're excessively adjacent to the skyline to observe," said Vahé Peroomian, a prof of astronomy and physics astatine the University of Southern California. "Jupiter, Saturn and Mars volition beryllium disposable erstwhile it gets dark, from southeast to east."

Planets tin look unneurotic successful the aforesaid portion of the entity during their orbits astir the sun, Peroomian told CBS News.

"Mercury completes 1 orbit successful 88 days, and Venus successful 225 days. The outer planets determination a batch slower: Jupiter takes 12 years to orbit the Sun, Saturn takes 29," helium said. "So, arsenic agelong arsenic Jupiter and Saturn are visible, which happens unless they're connected other sides of the Sun from our constituent of view, past the remaining planets volition yet enactment up." 

It is simply a bigger feat for Neptune and Uranus to besides beryllium disposable astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic they instrumentality 165 years and 84 years, respectively, to orbit the sun.

Both planets "spend sizeable clip connected other sides of the Sun from our vantage point," Peroomian said.

On Wednesday night, Uranus and Neptune were comparatively adjacent together, but due to the fact that Uranus moves astir the Sun doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic Neptune, the planets volition spell backmost to being acold apart from 1 another, helium said.

As a result, "it won't beryllium imaginable to spot some planets successful the nighttime entity astatine the aforesaid clip for respective decades," Peroomian added.  

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• Space