🪐 5 planets will align in the night sky this month

Planetary parade will take place March 28

Jupiter (L) and Saturn appear about one-tenth of a degree apart during an astronomical event known as a Great Conjunction on Dec. 21, 2020. The planets, which remain about 450 million miles apart in space, have not appeared this close together from Earth's vantage point since 1623, and it's been nearly 800 years since the alignment occurred at night. The conjunction, which occurred on the night of the Winter Solstice, by coincidence, has become known popularly as the "Christmas Star." The gas giants will not appear this close together again until 2080. (Rodin Eckenroth, 2020 Getty Images)

SAN ANTONIO – You know what they say — the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, but if you look up this week it might actually be planets you’re seeing.

Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will be visible on March 28 as the five planets align in a small 50-degree sky sector, according to StarWalk.

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Anyone wanting to see the alignment should head outside shortly after sunset for the best viewing. Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will be the brightest and easiest to see but you might need binoculars to see Uranus.

The alignment will also be visible for a few days before and after March 28. Check the weather forecast here to see which nights will be best for viewing.

Novice astronomers shouldn’t expect to see a perfectly straight line, it’s more of a “planetary parade” — a colloquial term that refers to planetary alignments.

In astrology, a planetary parade occurs when several planets are located in the same zodiac constellation, StarWalk reported. In this case, the constellation is Pisces.

“Some media sources falsely claim that planetary alignments cause tsunamis, earthquakes, and other global disasters,” according to StarWalk. “This nonsense has been repeatedly debunked. In reality, alignments do not affect gravity or human life, but they are cool stargazing events.”