June 24 will present a rare terrestrial sight as five planets align for a spectacular view. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will ‘line up in the planetary order.
The event started in June, and it continues to get brighter, clearer, and easier to view as the months have passed, as per the observance editor of Sky & Telescope, Diana Hannikainen.
On Friday, the party will be joined by a waning crescent moon between Venus and Mars; thus, another celestial object will join the party. The moon will show Earth’s relative position in the alignment, which means that it is where our plant will show in the planetary order.
According to Sky & Telescope, the rare marvel has not happened since December 2004, as the distance between Saturn and Mercury will be lesser this year.
How to see the alignment
Star watchers will require a clear vision of the eastern horizon to see the marvel, according to Hannikainen. Although humans can view it with naked eyes, she adds that binoculars are ideally recommended to get the optional view and an impeccable experience.
The ideal time to view the planets is an hour before sunrise and ensures checking when the sun will rise before viewing the alignment.
Many stargazers are hyped about the celestial event, and Hannikainen is part of the group. She flew to a beachside town along the Atlantic Ocean to get an ideal vision of the alignment from her home in west Boston.
Hannikainen said, “I’ll be out there with my binoculars, looking towards the east and southeast and crossing all my fingers and toes that it is going to be clear,”
Northern Hemisphere stargazers can view the planets from the eastern to the southeastern horizon. The Southern Hemisphere should look at the eastern to the northeastern horizon as a clear sky is the only requirement. If you miss the event, the next one will happen in 2040, according to Sky & Telescope.
Full Moons
According to The Old Farmers’ Almanac, 2022 will see a total of seven more full moons:
- June 14: Strawberry moon
- July 13: Buck moon
- August 11: Sturgeon moon
- September 10: Harvest moon
- October 9: Hunter’s moon
- November 8: Beaver moon
- December 7: Cold moon
Lunar and solar eclipses
Another total lunar eclipse and partial solar eclipse are expected in 2022, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
A partial solar eclipse is expected to be on October 25 as it will be visible to those in Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India, Western China, and Western Asia. Both the partial solar eclipses won’t be visible in North America.
A lunar eclipse will be on display for people in Australia, Asia, South America, the Pacific, and North America between 3:01 a.m. ET and 8:58 a.m. ET on November 8. However, the moon will set for the eastern regions of North America.
