A Celestial Traffic Jam in Store Through the End of June | WeatherBug
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A Celestial Traffic Jam in Store Through the End of June

June 23, 2022
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Alyssa Robinette
Whether you call it a celestial traffic jam or a grand celestial reunion, sky-watchers are in for a rare treat through the end of the month as they will get a chance to see all the major planets in our solar system bunched together. Even the moon will be joining in on the festivities.

A rare alignment of planets has developed and will continue through June 27th. This includes five planets that are easily spotted with the naked eye, which are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Each will be bright enough to see even in the light-polluted skies, with Venus being the brightest and Mercury being the faintest. Our closest planets will appear to be arranged across the sky in the same order as their distance from the sun.

The more distant Uranus and Neptune will also cluster in the same area, though they will be more challenging to spot. This will require the use of binoculars to spots. Scan between Venus and Mars to find green-tinged Uranus, and then look between Jupiter and Saturn in the sky to find the blue Neptune.

This planetary alignment can be glimpsed by most of the world’s population, but some will have a better position than other. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, cities north of New York City and London may have Mercury be washed out by the glare of dawn as it will be near the horizon. In these regions, the other planets will also hug the eastern horizon, which could make it a challenge to easily see all the planets. Meanwhile, in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere, the planets will rise higher in the predawn sky, so they will have the best views.

The best recommendation to view the planets is to seek out an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon about 30 to 60 minutes before local sunrise. To find the planets, viewers need to look to the bright moon, with the planets being both to the left and right of it.

Astronomers call these planetary close encounters “conjunctions.” While this traffic jam of planets will appear to be huddled together in one small part of the sky, they are of course spread out across a vast expanse of space and separated from each other by millions of miles. It’s our vantage point on Earth that makes them seem so clearly positioned.

Having two or three planets close together is not all that rare, but the last time we saw the five brightest planets together was in December 2004. If you miss this chance at viewing the five planets, you will have to wait until 2040 to have another chance!
 

Source: National Geographic
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Image: Illustration of the horizon with locations of Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, and the moon on June 17, 2022. (ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS)