NEW DELHI: This January witnessed the alignment of six planets — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — all visible in the night sky, a visual delight for astronomers. However, this celestial event will become even more fascinating for stargazers on Feb 28, when Mercury joins the ‘planetary parade’. All seven planets of our solar system will align and be visible from Earth, a “rare” celestial event, according to scientists.
After six planets aligned in the night sky between Jan 21 and Jan 29, it will be the last time until 2040 that all seven planets, including Mercury, will align to create a spectacular night sky on Feb 28.
A planetary alignment occurs “when the planets ‘line up’ on the same side of the Sun, generally speaking”, Gerard van Belle, US-based Lowell Observatory’s director of science, told Space.com. “When this happens, we can see multiple planets in the night sky.”
According to Jenifer Millard, a science communicator and astronomer at Fifth Star Labs in the UK, “You can go on Google and get a more spectacular view of all these planets. But there is something special about looking at the planets with your own eyes. It’s a humbling experience.”
The six-planet alignment happened during the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela, world’s largest cultural gathering that has been inscribed on Unesco’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. However, the seven-planet planetary parade is set to happen two days after Maha Kumbh ends on Feb 26. Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj is held in the month of Magh when Jupiter is in Aries, and Sun and Moon are in Capricorn or Jupiter is in Taurus, and Sun in Capricorn.
There are different kinds of Kumbh: Magh Kumbh every year, Kumbh every three years, Ardh Kumbh six years and ‘Purna’ Kumbh after every 12 years. Besides being the ‘Purna’ (complete) Kumbh this time, the planetary positioning of six planets in this year’s Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj makes it a unique occurrence, repeating only once every 144 years.
In 1966, a Nasa scientist called Gary Flandro calculated that there would be an alignment of the four outermost planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — in 1977 that would enable all four to be visited within a span of just 12 years, compared to 30 years if they were not aligned. This fortuitous alignment led to Nasa launching the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1977 on a “Grand Tour” of the outer solar system.
