New Delhi

Skygazers assemble! We are in for a treat next month when a rare planets' alignment will grace the pre-dawn sky. In June, as many as six planets will align in a straight line, a rare celestial phenomenon known as “Planet Parade.” The six planets featuring the rare celestial event are- Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. During Planet Parade, all the planets will be visible in the sky in a straight line.

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In astronomy, planetary alignment happens generally by coincidence, when the orbits of multiple planets of the Solar System bring them to the same side of the Sun all at once. This is why this celestial event is quite rare and we will be lucky enough to witness it. 

"They appear in a line on the sky when we view them from the Earth. In this case, the planets Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune and Saturn will form a line across the sky, in that order,” explains Kate Pattle, a lecturer at University College London's Physics & Astronomy Department in conversation with Glamour UK. 

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However, the planetary alignment in the context of planets is only a visual appearance rather than an orbital one. In other words, planets only appear to align in a straight line and not in a true orbital alignment. 

“It’s important to emphasise that the planets aren’t forming a straight line in space – that’s a much rarer astronomical event called a syzygy,” Kate says.

"However, because all the planets – including the Earth – orbit around the Sun in roughly the same orientation (moving in which we call the “Plane of the Ecliptic”), when they’re on the same side of the Sun as each other, they appear to form a line in the sky when we view them from Earth.”

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Best time and location to view Planet Parade

One thing to keep in mind before we go ahead is that Planet Parade will only be visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions, in some cases, Mercury and Jupiter will be quite far away to notice them in a perfect line. Uranus is very dim and a challenge to spot. Neptune is six times dimmer than Uranus and will require a telescope to be seen. 

To catch this rare event, look towards the eastern horizon about 20 minutes before sunrise. The alignment will stretch from the low eastern horizon, with Jupiter closest to the horizon, up through Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune, and Saturn. 

The astronomical event is expected to make its first appearance on June 3 and second on June 29, along with the moon. 

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The real parade is expected to occur about four weeks later, on June 29, as per one report by Phys.org. During June 29 planet alignment- Mar, Jupiter, Saturn and the three-quarter moon will be visible in the morning twilight. 

In Southern California, this might happen around 5: 00 or 6:00 am (local time), said Paul Robertson, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, while talking to Phys.org. 

"If you went out that morning, you could actually see all of those four objects at the same time, and that's not really the same for the June 3 thing," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)