What To Expect From The ‘Planetary Parade’ And Other Celestial Events This Summer

Six planets will align early Monday for a “planetary parade” through the night sky.

Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will seem to be in a straight line, but you won’t be able to see all of them with the naked eye.

Vanessa Alarcon, the Griffith Observatory’s astronomical observer, told LAist you should be able to spot a pair of the planets if you head out to a dark area at the right time, but there’s also several other celestial events to look forward to in the coming months.

“If they're out, it is a great time to go look at them,” she said. “Not just when there are multiple [planets] in the sky.”

What is a parade of planets?

Planetary parade is a colloquial term for when there are at least three planets sitting along one side of the sun.

Alarcon said it happens pretty frequently with such a big swath of sky, but it really depends on the time of year.

There are some planets that move back and forth relatively quickly, including Mars and Mercury, which are closer to us on Earth. But those that are farther out, like Uranus, Neptune, and Jupiter, don’t appear to move much from day to day, Alarcon added.

“As long as they are in the sky, the other ones will come and go, and very frequently you'll actually see a bunch of them at the same time, on the same side,” she said.

Tips for spotting them in SoCal

You’ll want to find a clear horizon away from L.A.’s light pollution super early in the morning, but not too early that Mars hasn’t risen yet. Alarcon said setting up between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Monday should give you the best shot of seeing the show.

“Mars and Saturn will be visible, and that's it, even with the naked eye, even in a super dark sky site, it's just Mars and Saturn,” Alarcon said. “But on the 1st and 2nd of June, the moon will actually be in between them, which is a nice little addition.”

You’ll be able to find Neptune and Uranus with a telescope, but they’ll both be dimmed by the distance.

As for Jupiter and Mercury, they’re way too close to the sun to be seen, Alarcon added.

“One of them is like half a degree away from the sun, and that's just not going to rise before the sun with a significant time for you to be able to see it,” she said.

The planetary parade will be pretty low on the horizon, so bring your binoculars, pack some patience, and lock your eyes toward the east.

More celestial events this summer

Don’t worry if it (figuratively) rains on your planetary parade. There are a few other notable shows in the sky this summer.

On July 13, Alarcon said the moon will pass in front of the bright star Antares in what's called an occultation.

“I think it's really cool just because you do see this bright star that is kind of a staple in the summer sky disappear for a little bit behind the moon,” she said.

But if you don’t want to wake up too early, Mercury will be visible just after sunset on July 21, when it reaches its greatest elongation.

There’s also some meteor showers coming up, including the Southern Delta Aquariids, which Alarcon said will light up the sky at the end of July, and the Perseid meteor shower, which will arrive toward the end of August.