Planetary Parade Alert: A rare 6 planet alignment is happening in the North Texas sky – NBC DFW
A rare sight is coming to North Texas at the end of January 2025. Six planets – Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Venus will create an arc in the evening sky. This event will be visible into February.Streaming 24/7: Watch NBC 5 local news and weather for free wherever you areThe six planets will be visible in the days immediately leading up to January 21, and for about four weeks afterward. Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible to the naked eye. You’ll need a high-powered viewing device like a telescope to spot Neptune and Uranus. Look toward the southeastern to southwestern sky.The best time to view the planets will be after sunset to around 8:30 p.m. You still might be able to catch Venus, Saturn and Neptune on the horizon after that, but all three planets will be under the horizon by 11:30 p.m. to midnight. After that, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will remain visible for a few more hours with Mars finally setting just before sunrise. This best viewing opportunity is away from the urban lights of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.The latest news from around North Texas.All the planets in the solar system orbit the Sun at different distances and speeds. Thus, they’re moving relative to each other in our night sky here on Earth. Sometimes, their paths will seem to cross, leading to an alignment or conjunction.A “planetary alignment” is not a perfect straight line in space. Rather, a celestial event where multiple planets appear close together in the sky from our perspective on Earth.The next planetary alignment involving these planets will occur more times in 2025, including alignments featuring 5 to 7 planets. Also, some major planetary alignments will happen in the coming centuries.
