Look up in the night sky over Beaufort SC in the next couple of days because it’s about to get a lot busier as a visible large planetary alignment is set to take place around Tuesday, March 28th with five planets set to line up.
It’s a planet parade!
On Tuesday just after sunset, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will gather together and be visible in the western sky. These planets will not be visible in a straight line, but rather than arc shape appearance from just above the horizon to much higher in the sky, near the quarter moon.
March 28th will be the best day for observing, but, you could also see these planets both a few days before and after that date. You’ll have an easier time seeing them with a pair of binoculars.
Beaufort has a really dark night sky because of a lack of ground light, so we always get the best views…as long as it’s not a rainy or cloudy night.
A planetary alignment occurs when planets gather close together on one side of the Sun at the same time.
This won’t be the only planetary alignment of 2023. There will be several smaller ones that include fewer than five planets. It just to happens that the alignment this March will be the largest evening alignment of at least five planets.
Other alignments ahead this year:
- April 11th & 24th – Small alignment of Mars, Venus, Uranus and Mercury.
- May 29th – Small alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus.
- June 17th – Small alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury and Uranus.
- July 26th – Small alignment of Mars, Venus and Mercury.
- August 24th – Small alignment of Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus.
The next most impressive planetary alignment won’t arrive for another 17 years, on September 8, 2040. That’s when five planets will join the crescent moon in the sky for another beautiful display.
