Planet Parade 2025: Final Chance To Witness Rare Seven Planet Alignment; Here's How To Watch In India

A stunning celestial event is set to unfold on Feb. 28, as seven planets in our solar system will align in a rare 'planetary parade'. From Jan. 21 to 29, six planets had already lined up, but now Mercury will join this spectacular formation. Thus, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will align on Friday.

Planet parade is a term commonly used to refer to an alignment of several planets along a line that will be visible from the Earth. Thus, the special 7-planet alignment which will happen Friday is being referred to as a planetary parade.

NASA notes that planet parade is not a technical term in astronomy, and "planetary alignment" can refer to several different phenomena. What makes the spectacle of Feb. 28 special is that such an event won’t happen again until 2040. 

However, another such event of a smaller formation of planets is lined up in late August, when four planets will be visible at once before sunrise, NASA said.

According to NASA, five of these planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are 'naked eye' planets. This means that they are typically visible without any optical aid.

The best time to watch the event will be about 45 minutes after sunset. While some planets can be seen with the naked eye, for others you will need a telescope. Four planets–Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus– will be visible to the naked eye while Saturn, Mercury, and Neptune can be seen with binoculars or telescopes.

The celestial event will be visible across India. Major cities where it can be seen are Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Noida, Indore, Kanpur, Guwahati, Gangtok, Ahmedabad, and Dehradun.

Here are some of the tips for getting the best shot at watching the spectacle:

• Go to a dark spot to watch the alignment

• Use binoculars or a telescope

• Check the weather forecast and be patient