A ‘Planetary Alignment’ Is Here. Now Wait For The ‘Golden Conjunction’ – Forbes
The sun and nine planets of our system orbiting.Everyone’s talking about the “rare planetary alignment.” Are there four bright planets visible to the naked eye tonight? Yes. Is it rare? No—it’s been that way for months. Its also not an alignment.It’s more accurately called a “planet parade” because planets do not align. They merely orbit the sun as usual. What those on social media appear to mean by alignment is “currently visible.” Besides, even if by alignment, the proponents mean “cluster,” they’re a bit early. Precisely 5,709 days, in fact, which is when what I suspect people understand by a “rare planetary alignment” will occur—a genuinely unusual “golden conjunction” of bright planets.The “golden conjunction” after sunset on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2040. On Saturday, Sept. 8, 2040, a “golden conjunction” will peak. On that night—and on a very many nights either side, in practice—Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be clustered in a 10-degree wide patch of the southwestern post-sunset night sky. With one arm outstretched against the night sky, it will be possible to cover all five planets with a fist. You’ll be able to punch the planets.Now that’s going to be worth waiting for. However, what’s happening this month (specifically on Saturday, Jan. 25, according to content copywriters who presumably never step outside at night) remains an arresting sight. If skies are clear where you are, the post-sunset view of the night sky this weekend is worth making an effort to see.If you venture out about 45 minutes after sunset when you are, you’ll see a very bright Venus shining in the southwestern sky. Just beneath it is the much dimmer Saturn (110 times dimmer, to be exact), the ringed planet. Look on the other side of the night sky, and you’ll see, highest in the sky, bright Jupiter, shining about eight times dimmer than Venus. Underneath it is Mars’s rosy light, which is about three times dimmer than Jupiter and about 27 times dimmer than Venus.It’s a nice view but not a “rare planetary alignment.” It’s just that these planets—the four brightest, as seen from Earth—are currently all visible in the post-sunset night sky. They’re visible from Earth’s night side. Uranus and Neptune are also in the night sky, but neither can be seen with the naked eye.The best time to look is about 45 minutes after sunset until around three hours later when Venus and Saturn will set in the west.What is particularly striking about the myriad of poorly researched articles on social media about the appearance of four bright planets is the poor choice of language and a lack of understanding about how planets move. Some appear to think that planets appear randomly across the sky, so for them not to do so is something special.That is not the case. Alignment means “arrangement in a straight line or in correct relative positions.” In that case, the planets are always aligned. If a planet is visible from the night side of Earth, it can only ever be seen along an imaginary path through the sky called the ecliptic. This is the plane of the solar system.The ecliptic can easily understood if you picture a flat, round disk with the sun at the center. All the planets, from Mercury out through Neptune, circle it in roughly the same plane. All the planets, including the sun and moon, appear to travel along this path in the sky. All the planets are thus permanently aligned, but as for a “rare planetary alignment”—it does not exist.Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:So, how can you be a power user?Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
