Rare 'spectacular' celestial event dubbed 'planet parade' to light up Irish skies over next four weeks

Irish stargazers are in for a treat as a “spectacular” celestial event which sees six planets align in a row becomes visible beginning on Tuesday.

Dubbed a planet parade, the plenary event will see Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all aligned in a row, many of which are visible to the naked eye.

Although Mars, Venus, Jupiter can be viewed in all their glory without the use of any equipment, any sky watchers will have to grab a pair of high-powered binoculars if they want to catch a glimpse of the sight.

The event will continue throughout the month and into February, with most people living around the Northern Hemisphere able to catch the display until the end of next month, with the best evening to view the planets on February 27.

Resident Astronomer at the Blackrock Observatory in Cork, Danielle Wilcox, told RTÉ the once in a lifetime event isn’t a normal occurrence, with only one or two planets viable at once.

"We don’t get so many planets all at once in the sky. We have times when one or two planets are visible but to have multiple is a spectacular event,” she explained.

John Conafay, CEO of Integrate Space said the reason the planets are aligned is due to the speeds and paths of the bodies as they pass around the sun.

He told Today.com: "It’s happening because of the specific orbital speeds and paths of the planets around the sun”.

The CEO also shared that you can tell a planet apart from a star based on its twinkle. "Planets look more like a steady light, while stars often twinkle because their light is affected by Earth’s atmosphere," he said.

To check the best time to view the planets based on your location you can use the site Time and Date here to check when they will be visible.

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