“If we were somewhere in space other than Earth, these planets would not seem compatible,” Alphonse Sterling, an astrophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, said in a statement.
The alignment of the six planets occurs infrequently, depending on each planet's orbit and position as seen from Earth.
Despite this, the same approximate alignment of six planets may be visible later this year in the hours before dawn on August 28 and again on January 18, 2025.
The official explained: “It is not unusual to see two or three lined up, but six of them are lined up in this way, which is unusual.”
The alignment of the planets is likely to be most apparent 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise, when looking east from a high, dark point, with minimal light pollution and an unobstructed view of the entire horizon.
It will be possible to recognize the planets Mars and Saturn with the naked eye, and Mercury and Jupiter will also be visible near the horizon.
However, to add Neptune and Uranus to the alignment, you will need to use a high-powered telescope or binoculars.
Six-planet alignments are more common than full-planet alignments, as all eight planets in Earth's solar system appear to be located in a rough configuration on the same side of the Sun.
Taking into account all the factors involved, including the orbital level, speed and distance of each planet, estimates suggest it would take more than 300 billion years for it to happen all at once.
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