How to see the ‘parade of planets’ in the night sky that will see three planets and the moon align

A parade of planets is set to be visible in the predawn skies of the US on Saturday, just a few weeks after a similar celestial event took place earlier this month.

Stargazers will be able to see Saturn, Mars and Jupiter with the naked eye and although Uranus and Neptune won’t be part of the alignment, they will still be visible in the sky.

The best time to view the alignment is about 30 minutes before sunrise and in rural areas away from any light pollution and with an unobstructed view of the horizon.

The last event took place in the early hours of June 3, showing off Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The planetary alignment will take place at different times depending on your location, so to choose what time to step outside, you should first find out when sunrise starts and begin observing the sky an hour before it.

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Jupiter will appear as the bright planet around 10 degrees above the horizon, forming a line with Mars and Saturn that stretches toward the south. 

The planets travel the plane at different speeds, and as the days pass, they eventually catch up to one another so it appears as though they are aligned on the same path.

Because they move at varying rates, the alignment will only last for a brief time and won’t be perfectly straight, despite the straight appearance from earth.

Unlike the previous event when six worlds aligned, Saturday’s event is considered a mini planetary alignment.

If you’re worried about confusing the planets and stars, thus missing the alignment, there are apps you can download that will point out exactly where they are in the sky.

One such app is Sky Tonight which allows you to locate the planets by pointing your phone at the sky and it will identify what stars or planets you’re looking at.

Stellarium is another useful online tool to help plan where to look in the early dawn, making the hunt for the celestial parade much easier.

You will still need a good telescope and even better weather to spot all four planets in one morning, but there is no need to despair if you fail.

‘You’re worrying that planetary alignments are rare, but honestly, we get one every couple of years,’ as the head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, Bill Cooke, told ABC News in 2023.

The next event will be a large alignment of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn on August 28.