When do planets align

Will there ever be a moment when all eight major planets are in a straight line on the same side of the Sun?

He points out that you have to start by defining the question precisely. Mercury, the fastest-moving planet, laps Venus every 0. On each pass, the chance that Earth will also be within this 3.

So, on average, the three inner planets line up every All the planets of the Solar System lined up on one side of the Sun at the same time on July 4, Also, the next month observers could see all the planets in one night. In March , five planets of the Solar System will simultaneously appear in a small sector of the sky. In June , one more planetary alignment will occur. If you liked this article, share it with your friends, and follow us on social media to never miss noteworthy planetary alignments in the sky above.

Contents What is a planet parade? Types of planetary parades When do the planets align? What happens when the planets align? When was the last time all the planets aligned? When will the next large planetary alignment occur? What is a planetary parade? What types of planet parades are there? When do the planets of the Solar System line up? What to expect from a planet parade?

When was the last time a planetary parade occurred? The alignment gives us a rare peek at Mercury. Planetary conjunction occurs when multiple planetary orbits line up. Though it appears as if they are next to each other in the sky, the distance between the planets remains the same, reports Megan Marples and Ashley Strickland for CNN. These rare events often happen many years apart.

In December , Jupiter and Saturn appeared so close to each other that they resembled a giant star in the sky in what's known as the "Great Conjunction," Inverse reports. In other words, the gravitational effect of the moon coming closer to and farther from the earth every month is far stronger than that of any planetary alignment, no matter how contrived.

If the gravity of planetary alignments caused problems on earth, then the normal monthly fluctuation of the moon's gravity would cause problems that would be 15 times worse, or more. As should be obvious, there is not a giant earthquake, a catastrophe, or a spate of crimes every month when the moon reaches its closest point to earth. Therefore, the fluctuations in gravitational force on us due to the alignment of any planets, which is tens to thousands times weaker than that of the moon, has no effect on earth.

The closest that the eight planets will come to being aligned Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet will occur on May 6, Again, on this date, the planets will not be situated along a line.

Rather, they will be in the same degree-wide patch of sky, as shown in the image below. Additionally, the five planets Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury will be in the same general part of the sky on September 8, While these planetary alignments have no effect on the earth, they can make for interesting nights for star gazers who know what to look for. Topics: alignment , planetary alignment , planets , solar system , tides.

The type of planetary alignment shown in this artistic rendering never happens. Public Domain Image, source: Christopher S. The closest the eight planets will come to being aligned will be on May 6,