Wyomingites will have a front-row seat a stellar celestial alignment on the morning of June 4. That’s when a rare “parade of planets” will stretch across the sky for the first time in decades.
Six planets and a crescent moon are set to be visible right before dawn, diagonally arching in the early morning light. With an early alarm and a pair of binoculars, everything should be visible to people in the Cowboy State.
This parade of planets is a rare event with six planets aligning.
For now, people will have to settle for six planets.
“Every once in a while, we get a lucky alignment of the planets in the evening or morning sky,” said Max Gilbraith, planetarium coordinator for the University of Wyoming. “It's a rare chance to see so much of our solar system.”
The Planets Align
The eight planets in the solar system are constantly pirouetting through their celestial orbits. What makes the June 4 “parade of planets” so special is how they will appear from Earth’s surface, Gilbraith said.
“If you were to map out the relative positions of the planets to see how often they would do something like this, it is fairly rare,” Gilbraith said.
The further a planet is from the sun, the longer its orbit. While Mars goes through all the zodiacal constellations in two and a half years, Neptune passes through one constellation every decade.
But on June 4, the planets should be perfectly positioned for a stellar view. Gilbraith said this is the first time such an alignment has been visible in at least 30 years.
“It takes several months for the planets to catch up with each other, and sometimes they’re on the other side of the sun out of place,” he said. “It’s rare to see them like this.”
Planning For Planets
Wyomingites should be looking east from their preferred viewing point about 25 minutes before sunrise to witness the parade of planets. Sunrise on June 4 should occur around 5 a.m.
From west to east, Jupiter is the first planet in the parade, followed closely by Mercury. Uranus is next, followed by an almost new moon. Mars will be hovering in the middle, with Neptune and Saturn finishing off the arch at the highest point in the sky.
Mars and Saturn will be the stars of the planetary parade. They will be the brightest planets that morning and the easiest to spot in the sky.
Jupiter and Mercury will briefly and barely peak over the horizon. Gilbraith said the planets’ proximity to the edge of the earth and brightness, relative to the pre-dawn sunlight, could make them tricky to find that morning.
“Pre-dawn light washes out the sky and makes the densest objects difficult to see,” he said. “The sun's passing at a high angle in the north creates a lot of skyglow in the early morning.”
Meanwhile, Neptune and Uranus will only be visible with binoculars or a telescope. That’s always the case for the two furthest planets from the sun.
Crucial Conjunctions
Another curious occurrence that morning will be a conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter. A conjunction is when two celestial bodies appear close together in the sky from our earthly perspective.
“It’s when two planets, or a planet and a star, are right on each other,” Gilbraith said. “They'll be rising together right before sunrise.”
A conjunction is a unique phenomenon to observe on its own. Unfortunately, it won’t make either planet easier to spot that morning.
The only planet that isn’t participating in the pre-dawn parade is Venus. Gilbraith said that’s because it’ll be having its own conjunction with the sun.
“Venus is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun right now,” he said. “The disk of the Sun is obscuring Venus. It's kind of cool, but we don't get to see any of that from here.”
Where In Wyoming
The June 4 parade of planets should be visible from anywhere in Wyoming, but anyone who misses this one won’t have to worry too much. According to NASA, the parade of planets is a relatively common astronomical occurrence.
Uranus joined Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune for a five-planet alignment in June 2023. It was the first alignment of its kind in 18 years.
June 4 isn't even the only parade of planets in 2024. A similar spectacle with fewer participants should be visible on Aug. 28, and three parades are anticipated in 2025.
Astronomy enthusiasts should mark Feb. 28, 2025, on their calendars now. That’s when the solar system’s seven planets should be visible for that parade.
For anyone looking for a stellar view of the stellar spectacle June 4, Gilbraith says to explore your upward mobility.
“It’ll be best if you don’t have any mountains to the east or maybe on top of the mountains,” he said. “From there, you might see Jupiter and Mercury before sunrise. Mars and Saturn should stand out pretty well, and you might bring a telescope out for Uranus and Neptune if you've got the wherewithal.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
