Planetary Alignment Tonight Visible After Sunset and Before Dawn

With clear skies and weather permitting you can observe at least one bright planet in the night's sky. Even two or three planets may be visible in the hours after sunset.

For tonight's "planetary alignment", seven planets will be aligning for a visible display on Friday, February 28th.

Tonight, Mercury will align with Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn.

Uranus and Neptune may require a telescope while the other 5 planets will shine brightly over the western horizon after sunset or before dawn.

According to nasa.gov, while this planetary alignment isn't unusual, what makes this event particularly special is the opportunity to view multiple planets simultaneously with the naked eye.

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are frequently visible in the night sky after sunset or before dawn, when visibility is at its peak.

Venus is only visible in the night sky for a couple of months during its orbit. Mercury completes its orbit in 88 days, only visible for a few weeks or a few days at a time.

Tonight, it's the addition of Mercury and Venus in this alignment which make this celestial display particularly noteworthy.

To ensure the clearest viewing of this planetary alignment after sunset or before dawn, ensure that trees, buildings and other obstructions are not blocking your view of the night sky.