Once-in-a-generation ‘Planetary Parade’ will be visible in UK skies tonight in event that won’t be seen again for decades

If you're a fan of the night sky, you might want to look up tonight.

An incredibly rare cosmic event is set to take place this evening and if you miss it, you'll have to wait over a decade until it happens again.

Seeing a planet or two in the sky isn't exactly rare, with one usually floating in space within our visible path at any given time, and every week is different.

But this week, we won't be seeing two, three or just four planets in our night sky - it's much more spectacular than that.

We'll be able to see seven planets at the same time. That means we'll be able to see every other planet in our solar system.

What is a planetary parade?

If you look up tonight, you should be able to spot Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune from Earth, all at the same time.

The next time this phenomenon will happen will be in 2040, which is 15 years or four Olympic Games' away, to put it into perspective.

On Friday (28 February), the planets will align in our sky, giving it the rather cool name of a 'planetary parade'.

Dr Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told PA Media: “A planetary parade is a moment when multiple planets are visible in the sky at the same time,

“How impressive a parade it is will depend on how many planets are in it and how visible they are.”

How hard is it to spot?

While all seven planets will be visible in the sky on Friday night, they won't be easy to spot.

Dr Brown said that Mercury, Neptune and Saturn will be close to the horizon in the early evening, with the latter two harder to be 'seen in the twilight'.

“In addition, Uranus, like Neptune, is very faint, making it almost impossible to find without a pair of binoculars or a telescope," he added.

But there's some good news, as Venus, Jupiter and Mars are 'very easy' to spot with the naked eye.

Getting to an area with less artificial lighting before sunset is key (Getty Stock Photo)

How rare is a planetary parade?

While NASA explain that a parade of four or five planets happens every few years, having seven, aligned and visible, is a rarity.

“The more planets are involved, the more things need to be aligned to be visible at once,” Dr Brown explained.

While a similar parade happened in June 2024, only two planets were visible without the assistance of equipment, six planets were visible this January, with four to the naked eye.

When should I look up?

Dr Shyam Balaji, a researcher in astroparticle physics and cosmology at King’s College London, revealed the best time to look up on Friday.

He said you should have a look 'shortly after sunset, when the planets will be positioned above the western horizon', for those in the UK.

Experts have also suggested that you head out 30 minutes before sunset, stay away from any bright lights, and try your luck.

If you're lost on where to look, stargazing apps can help, while Dr Brown advised those with telescope to 'look for moon shapes' to find them.

You'll be able to spot every other planet in our solar system tomorrow night (Getty Stock Photo)

Why do planetary parades happen?

Dr Balaji, further explained why these occurrences happen: “Planetary alignments occur because the planets in our solar system orbit the Sun within roughly the same plane, known as the ecliptic plane."

He went on: “As they orbit at different speeds and distances from the Sun, there are moments when they appear to line up from Earth’s perspective.”