Planetary Alignment 2026: How to see six planets align in the night sky in rare celestial event

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Later in the year there will be a solar eclipse that will see around 90 per cent of the sun covered in shadow above Scotland, while there will also be a total lunar eclipse in September.

And this week there will be another fascinating phenomenon taking place in the heavens - a planetary alignment.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is a planetary alignment?

All the planets in our solar system travel around the sun in different orbits. When several of the planets are orbiting on the same side of the sun at the same time there is a phenomenon where they can all be seen in the night sky on Earth, appearing unusually close together. This is called a planetary alignment, or planet parade.

Of course the planets aren’t actually very close together - it just seems like it, in the manner of an optical illusion, and the closer the align the nearer they appear to be to each other.

When is the planetary alignment?

You’ll be able to see the planets in the night sky all week, but the best time will be on the evenings of Saturday, February 28, and Sunday, March 1.

How many planets will be visible?

While planetary alignments aren’t particularly rare, it is unusual for them to include more than five planets. This week’s alignment will mean six out of the seven other planets in our solar system will be visible at the same time - Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Uranus and Neptune.

When is the best time to see the next planetary alignment?

Often planetary alignments take place in the wee small hours but this one is convenient for those of us who don’t fancy getting up in the middle of the night. The best time to see it will be around 30 minutes after sunset - so in the Scottish Central Belt that will be at around 6.15pm.

Will I need equipment to see the planetary alignment?

You should be able to see four of the six planets with the named eye - namely Venus, Jupiter and Saturn and Mercury. You’ll need a decent pair of binoculars or a telescope to see the more distant Neptune and Uranus.

Where is the best place to see the planetary alignment?

Anywhere dark, with little in the way of artificial light and a good view of the night sky is ideal - so it’s best to get out of the city.

Here are a few ideas for stargazing locations in Scotland.

Where in the night sky should I look?

Saturn, Venus nnd Mercury will be near the horizon to the west, so you’ll need an unobstructed view, with Jupiter higher in the sky further to the east. so you’ll need an unobstructed view. There are lots of free phone apps that can help you locate them by pointing your phone camera at the night sky, so download one and you’re good to go.

What do the planets look like in the night sky?

The key way to tell planets apart from stars in the night sky is that they don’t twinkle.

Saturn, Venus and Jupiter will be very bright. Saturn has a very distinctive yellow colour so it’s best to find that first then look for the other planets once your eye is in.

When is the next planetary alignment?

There’s not actually that long to wait for the next six-planet planetary alignement, with six planets visible again on August 12 - so if it’s cloudy you’ll have another chance in the summer.

The even rarer sight of a seven planet alignment won’t happen until February 2034

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