🪐 Soon, an exceptional alignment of 6 planets, with 4 visible to the naked eye

On February 28, 2026, the evening sky will offer a rare celestial geometry: six planets of our Solar system will seem to gather in our visible portion of the starry vault.

This "alignment," which astronomers more readily call a "planetary parade," is a pure play of perspectives. From Earth, we see the planets moving on the same plane, the ecliptic, much like cars on a racetrack seen from the side. Sometimes, several of them find themselves in the same field of view at sunset. This is what will happen in late February. A spectacle that, to be appreciated, requires methodical observation, as not all planets reveal themselves with the same ease.

At the heart of the twilight ballet

The difficulty of the observation lies in the very short window of opportunity. You'll need to position yourself about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, not before, because the sky would be too bright, and not after, because the first planets will have already disappeared below the horizon. Your gaze will need to encompass a wide celestial arc, from the west, where Venus and Mercury play the role of shooting stars, to the southeast, where Jupiter, massive and brilliant, takes up its position.

With the naked eye, four of them will be accessible. Venus, with its exceptional brightness (magnitude -3.9), will serve as a beacon in the constellation of Aquarius, very low on the western horizon. Jupiter, on the opposite side, will be just as unmissable in Gemini. Between them, Saturn will offer its soft, yellow light, an anchor point in Pisces. Finally, Mercury will play the role of the shy guest: small and dim, it will almost skim the ground to the west, making a perfectly clear horizon indispensable.

To complete the picture, Uranus and Neptune will require optical equipment. Neptune hides only one degree from Saturn, but its magnitude of 7.8 makes it invisible without powerful binoculars or a telescope. Uranus, higher up in Taurus, is technically observable with the naked eye under a dark sky, but the Moon, nearly full that evening, will significantly hinder its perception. Amateur astronomers using an instrument, however, will be able to spot it not far from the famous Pleiades star cluster.

A celestial mechanism within reach

Therefore, the planetary alignment of February 28, 2026 is a rendezvous with patience. It reminds us that our view must contend with Earth's rotation and the horizon. Venus and Mercury will be the first to dip below the horizon line, followed by Saturn and Neptune, while Jupiter will remain on sentinel duty later into the night.

This phenomenon, which occurs when planets gather in a restricted angular sector of the sky, is not exceptional in itself, but its quality here lies in the accessibility of the timing and the presence of bright celestial bodies. For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the configuration will be ideal. In the Southern Hemisphere, the arc will be inclined differently, but the quest remains the same. More than just a spectacle, this parade offers a concrete lesson in space mechanics, visible from one's window, provided the weather cooperates.