When three or four planets align in the night sky, it's considered uncommon. When six or seven align, it's rare. And when all seven planets apart from Earth line up in order of their distance from the sun, it's a once-in-a-century event—one you will have a chance of seeing for a few minutes after sunset Friday, especially if you can get to a place with low light pollution and a clear view of the western horizon. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn will all appear together in a "planet parade" just after dusk, per USA Today. All but Mercury have been visible in our night sky for the past month, but now the closest planet to the sun will join the party.
"Since the planets all orbit the sun in the same plane, they can look like they are aligned in a row in the sky," per Today. A lineup of seven planets typically occurs about once a decade, but to have all seven arranged in the sky in the order of their distance from the sun only occurs about once every 100 years, astronomer Rebecca Allen tells the BBC. And on Friday, the lack of full moon will provide an especially dark sky for the show, which should be visible to most of the world without cloud cover. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible with the naked eye, while powerful binoculars or a telescope will be needed to see Uranus and Neptune.
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will appear brightest, while Mercury and Saturn will appear close to the horizon, which they'll quickly drop below, putting an end to the seven-planet spectacle, per CBS News. Michael Shanahan, director of the Liberty Science Center Planetarium, notes the chance to see Mercury is alone worth getting outside as "they say that one person in 1,000 ever sees Mercury and knows they're seeing it," per Today. If you miss out on the show, six planets will be visible in the night sky on Aug. 10 of this year and in Feb. 28, 2026, per USA Today. The seven planets won't be visible again until 2040. (More planets stories.)
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