--- title: How to Best See the 'Planetary Parade' This Weekend description: The best time to see the celestial phenomenon will be on Saturday. canonical: https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-02-27T23:48:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-19T11:49:31.859Z article:section: Science og:title: How to Best See the 'Planetary Parade' This Weekend og:description: The best time to see the celestial phenomenon will be on Saturday. og:url: https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a724a2929c23169/69b0488ec082a5021bdee4fe/Planetary-Parade.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Observation of the Planet Alignment in North Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Best See the 'Planetary Parade' This Weekend twitter:description: The best time to see the celestial phenomenon will be on Saturday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a724a2929c23169/69b0488ec082a5021bdee4fe/Planetary-Parade.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Best See the Rare Six-Planet ‘Parade’ in the Night Sky This Weekend by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Feb 27, 2026 11:48 PM UTC  An astronomical event dubbed as the planet parade or planetary alignment, which is when—in this case, four—planets are visible to the naked eye on the evening sky (Mars on left, Jupiter in the middle, Saturn and Venus on the right) as they move along the ecliptic, seen from Sparta, North Carolina, on Jan. 25, 2025. An astronomical event dubbed as the planet parade or planetary alignment, which is when—in this case, four—planets are visible to the naked eye on the evening sky (Mars on left, Jupiter in the middle, Saturn and Venus on the right) as they move along the ecliptic, seen from Sparta, North Carolina, on Jan. 25, 2025.Peter Zay—Anadolu/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Feb 27, 2026 11:48 PM UTC Don’t forget to look up at the sky this weekend! If you plan accordingly, you may be able to see a special celestial event—what’s known as a “planetary parade.” Here’s what to know about this phenomenon. ## **What is a planetary parade?** This phenomenon happens when you can see several planets in the sky at once. In our solar system, planets orbit the Sun in the same plane, so on occasions when multiple planets’ paths around the Sun align, they may look, to us, like they’re “bunched together in the sky,” according to [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/listen-to-this-months-planetary-parade-with-nasas-chandra/). “When this happens, it looks like the planets have roughly formed a line from our vantage point on Earth,” NASA explains on its website. This weekend, six planets will line up in this way: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, according to the [Farmers’ Almanac](https://www.facebook.com/TheFarmersAlmanac/posts/on-february-28-2026-six-planets-will-line-up-in-the-sky-in-whats-often-called-a-/1317669920395001/). ## **Is a planetary parade rare?** It’s not unusual to be able to see a few planets in the sky at once; the [Farmers’ Almanac](https://www.farmersalmanac.com/planet-parade-2025) reports that planetary parades typically occur every year. But experts say that seeing as many as six planets in a parade is less common. “While it’s fairly common to spot four or five planets at the same time, seeing six is much rarer,” Megan Argo, an astrophysicist at the University of Lancashire, told [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/feb/27/six-planets-due-to-parade-across-night-sky-in-rare-celestial-spectacle). ## **When will the planetary parade be visible?** The most optimal time to see the planetary parade—when the planets will be lined up best—will be on Saturday, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. ## **How will you best be able to see the planetary parade?** The best way to see the planetary parade is to find a location with little to no light pollution and a clear view of the horizon, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. Make sure to check the weather beforehand—you’ll need a clear sky to get the best view. Give your eyes enough time to adjust to the darkness. You should be able to see four of the planets—Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter—just by looking up. But you’ll need some kind of optical assistance, like binoculars, to see the other two planets, Uranus and Neptune, according to [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/watch-the-skies/2026/01/16/most-notable-2026-astronomical-events-a-year-of-watching-the-skies/). Mercury may also be tricky to see with the naked eye, so binoculars could help you catch a better view of that planet too. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/"},"headline":"How to Best See the Rare Six-Planet ‘Parade’ in the Night Sky This Weekend","datePublished":"2026-02-27T23:48:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-19T11:49:31.859Z","description":"The best time to see the celestial phenomenon will be on Saturday.","url":"https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/","keywords":["Space","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a724a2929c23169/69b0488ec082a5021bdee4fe/Planetary-Parade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a724a2929c23169/69b0488ec082a5021bdee4fe/Planetary-Parade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Observation of the Planet Alignment in North Carolina","caption":"Observation of the Planet Alignment in North Carolina","creditText":"Peter Zay—Anadolu/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7381763/planetary-parade-what-to-know/","name":"How to Best See the Rare Six-Planet ‘Parade’ in the Night Sky This Weekend"}}]}] ```