The Spectacular 'Planet Parade' Reaches Its Culmination on August 19 – What to Expect

From August 17 to 21, the sky hosts an impressive 'planet parade': six planets and the Moon form a beautiful arc at sunrise. The culmination is on August 19, when a half-moon with 16% illumination will shine above Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky, and Mercury becomes more easily visible near sunrise. At the same time, Saturn can be observed in the southern sky, while Uranus and Neptune are also in the sky but visible only with a telescope.

The 'planet parade' phenomenon is a visual illusion – the planets are not close to each other in space, but at sunrise they appear arranged along the ecliptic, the plane of the Solar System. Mercury reaches its maximum 'western elongation' on Tuesday, August 19. On Wednesday, August 20, a half-moon with 9% illumination will be very close to Venus, with Mercury below and Jupiter above.

Viewers also have a chance to witness 'earthshine' – a faint glow in the dark part of the Moon, resulting from sunlight reflected by Earth. This phenomenon is most visible during the late phases of the half-moon and was described by Leonardo da Vinci more than 500 years ago.

The parade will be best visible an hour before sunrise. Four planets can be observed with the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune can only be seen with telescopes. On August 21, a thin half-moon will be below Jupiter and Venus, near Mercury and the Pleiades star cluster. The next similar parade will take place in October 2028.

In September, the sky will offer more surprises – Saturn will reach 'opposition' on September 21 and will be the brightest for the year, and on September 7 there will be a total lunar eclipse for Asia, Africa, and Western Australia. A partial solar eclipse for the Pacific Ocean is expected on September 21.