Six-Planet Parade on Tuesday: How to spot Earthshine on Moon — is it visible through naked eye?

Time of India

2 days ago

The rare six-planet alignment in August has stirred mounting enthusiasm among skywatchers. This week, four of the brightest planets, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury, can be spotted without the aid of telescopes.
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Six-Planet Parade: What Makes Tuesday Special
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Six-Planet Parade: Distances Across Space
Six-Planet Parade: How To Spot 'Earthshine' On The Moon
What's Next In The Planet Parade
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Saturn's Opposition (Sept 21): The ringed planet will be at its biggest, brightest and most visible.
Total Lunar Eclipse (Sept 7): Skywatchers in Asia, Africa and western Australia will witness Earth casting its shadow on the moon.
Crescent Moon with Venus and Regulus (Sept 19): A striking view of the planet Venus alongside the bright star Regulus.
Partial Solar Eclipse (Sept 21): Visible from regions of the Pacific Ocean.
A Rare Celestial Opportunity
FAQs
What is the six-planet parade on August 19?
When will the next planetary parade occur?
Skywatchers across the world are set for a rare celestial spectacle on Tuesday, August 19, when Mercury joins Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in what astronomers describe as a six-planet 'parade.' The event, which has been underway for days, will reach its most photogenic phase with the crescent moon adding to the view.Astronomy enthusiasts say the sight will be best visible about an hour before sunrise in the eastern sky, when Mercury reaches its 'greatest elongation west,' marking its farthest point from the Sun as seen from Earth, as per a report by Forbes.The six-planet parade games of August have drawn growing excitement among skywatchers. For most of this week, four bright planets, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, are visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune require telescopes.On Tuesday morning, a 16%-lit waning crescent moon will shine above Venus, the brightest planet in the sky, and Jupiter, the largest. Just below them will be Mercury, hugging the horizon and easiest to spot closer to sunrise. Saturn, meanwhile, will be visible toward the southern sky.Astronomers caution against calling the phenomenon a 'planetary alignment.' In reality, the event is an optical illusion. The planets are not physically close to one another or to Earth. Instead, they all appear along the same curved path in the sky, known as the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system where all planetary orbits roughly lie.Although the parade looks like a gathering of planets, the actual distances separating them are vast. On August 19, Mercury will be about 80 million miles (128 million kilometers) from Earth, Venus about 118 million miles (190 million kilometers), Jupiter 548 million miles (882 million kilometers), and Saturn nearly 888 million miles (1,430 million kilometers).Uranus and Neptune, also technically part of the parade, are even farther and invisible to the unaided eye. They can be observed only with telescopes, adding depth to the six-planet spectacle.In addition to the planetary parade, skywatchers on Tuesday and the following mornings will also see a striking atmospheric phenomenon known as 'Earthshine.'When the crescent moon is less than 16% illuminated, the darker portion of its surface begins to glow faintly. This is sunlight reflecting off Earth's oceans, ice caps and clouds, bouncing onto the moon and then returning to human eyes within 1.3 seconds. The effect, sometimes called the 'Da Vinci glow,' was first described over 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci.Astronomers often refer to Earthshine poetically as 'the old moon in the new moon's arms.' Binoculars or small telescopes provide the best view of this subtle yet beautiful glow.While August 19 marks the highlight of the event, skywatchers should keep an eye on the eastern sky in the days following.On Wednesday, August 20, a slim 9%-lit crescent moon will appear strikingly close to Venus. Mercury will be positioned just below, with Jupiter above. This alignment, experts say, could produce one of the week's most photogenic scenes.On Thursday, August 21, the final act of the parade unfolds as a slender 4% waning crescent moon sits beneath Jupiter and Venus, while hovering close to Mercury and the Beehive Cluster of stars. After this, Mercury will quickly disappear from the pre-dawn sky as it races around the Sun.The next comparable planetary parade is not expected until October 2028, when five planets will line up before sunrise.The six-planet parade games of August come at a time of heightened public interest in astronomy, stoked by viral photographs, apps that track celestial events, and the availability of affordable telescopes.Astronomers say such events not only inspire curiosity about space but also help distinguish between popular misconceptions and scientific fact. The term 'alignment,' for instance, is misleading since planets are separated by hundreds of millions of miles and are never in a literal straight line.'The beauty of a planetary parade lies in perspective,' said an astronomy educator in New Delhi. 'It is a reminder that our solar system, while vast and spread out, follows a shared order along the ecliptic.'Once Mercury disappears from view later this month, only Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will remain visible to the naked eye in pre-dawn skies. But astronomers note that September brings several other highlights for enthusiasts.Among them are:For casual stargazers, Tuesday's six-planet parade represents an accessible and memorable opportunity. Unlike meteor showers or eclipses, which can be fleeting, the parade unfolds gradually in the pre-dawn hours and requires no special equipment, except perhaps a telescope for Uranus and Neptune.Astronomers suggest finding a clear eastern horizon free from city lights for the best view. 'Even a few minutes outside before sunrise could give you a rare glimpse of half the solar system at once,' one observer noted.The six-planet parade is a visual phenomenon where Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune appear along the same curved line in the sky, called the ecliptic. Four of them — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, can be seen without a telescope, while Uranus and Neptune require magnification.The next major planetary parade will take place in October 2028, when five planets are expected to be visible together in the pre-dawn sky.