On Wednesday night the planet parade was in full view. This is an astronomical event where the planets of the solar system line up in the sky with planets visible from the Earth. And it is known as a "planet parade."

Skywatchers can see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the naked eye. And with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, Uranus and Neptune line up.

The parade started on Friday, Dec. 23. And will reach conjunction where they are closest on December 29 when all eight planets will be visible 1.5 degrees apart.

 The moon joined the planet parade, appearing as a waxing crescent between Jupiter and Saturn.

A planet parade usually happens every 9 to 18 months. And this year we already had an eight-planet alignment in June.

To get the best views of the phenomenon, look southward after sunset. From east to west, the planets appear in this order: Mars, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury, and Venus.

Vahé Peroomian, professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Southern California said "People should look southward about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset to catch Mercury and Venus before they're too close to the horizon to observe. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars will be visible once it gets dark, from southeast to east."

Planet Parade viewing

Gianluca Masi, an astronomer with the Virtual Telescope Project astronomer, Gianluca said that “These nights, we can see all the planets of our solar system at a glance, soon after sunset. It happens from time to time, but it is always a spectacular sight.’ 

OMSI Director of Space Science Education, Jim Todd, recommends looking for the five aligned planets about 30 minutes after sunset.

 Venus is the brightest and easiest to spot. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury are a little dimmer, but still visible. And to see Uranus and Neptune grab the binoculars.

Todd says the alignment needs to be seen before Jan. 8, 2023. Because that’s the date that "Mercury sinks below the western horizon, as it makes its westward journey."

This year’s rare planet parade features both Neptune and Uranus. It takes Neptune 165 years to orbit our sun. And its sun orbit takes Uranus 84 years.

Peroomian explains that “The outer planets move a lot slower: Jupiter takes 12 years to orbit the Sun, Saturn takes 29. So, as long as Jupiter and Saturn are visible, which happens unless they're on opposite sides of the Sun from our point of view, then the remaining planets will eventually line up."

It won't be possible to see both planets in the night sky at the same time for several decades," he added.