February’s ‘rare planetary alignment’ is coming – here’s what to expect from the planet’s parade

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Is ‘planet parade’ the latest buzzword in skywatching? Supermoons, shooting stars “light up the night sky” and “ring of fire” eclipses have been popular in recent years. Now, step forward with the prospect of a planetary alignment, apparently more than enough to make mainstream audiences look up.

It was hard to escape the so-called “planet parades” in early 2025, when Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn were in the night sky simultaneously – though only four of them were visible.

Cue February 2026, which seems to bring as much hype about so-called rare planetary alignments. With Mars changed for Mercurythis time it’s even harder to see.

February 2026 “Parade of the Planet”.

Saturday, February 28, is the promoted date to see six planets in the evening sky. “On February 28, we’ll see not one, not two, but six planets in the evening sky,” writes Alyssa Lee on the space agency’s website.Look at the skies” blog. “Mercury, Venus, NeptuneSaturn, Uranusand Jupiter it will appear shortly after sunset.”

Unfortunately, “see” does a lot of work here.

To stand a chance, you’ll need:

• An unobstructed view to the west

• About half an hour after sunset on Saturday, February 28th

• Binoculars, a telescope – and most likely, a healthy dose of imagination.

Dissecting the ‘parade of the planet’

The main problem with all six planets is that four of them are already close to SUN and will be visible only briefly—if at all—in the brilliant twilight. Venus and Mercury will be closest to the horizon during twilight, followed by Saturn and Neptune, with Uranus and Jupiter much higher in the sky. In practice, seeing more than three planets will likely be a challenge.

Venus and Mercury

The inner planets, which shine at magnitudes -3.8 and 0.3 respectively, will likely require binoculars. Mercury will actually be easier to see at the beginning of the month; it is highest in the post-sunset sky on February 19-20. However, at that time, Venus will be lower in the sky, so harder to see – which is why February 28 offers a balance.

Saturn and Neptune

Now slowly moving toward the sun’s glare (its solar conjunction is on March 25), Saturn is well past its prime and now shines at magnitude 1. It is visible with the naked eye; however, unlike nearby Neptune, which at magnitude 8 will require a small telescope to see.

Uranus

Midway between the group of four planets in the southwest and Jupiter high in the south, Uranus will hang just below The Pleiades (M45) cluster opened on February 28. Shining at magnitude 5.7, it should be possible to spot it in stargazing binoculars.

Jupiter

He is now past his best, reaching opposition on January 10, The solar systemThe giant planet now shines at magnitude -2.3, about four times dimmer than the intrinsic luminosity of Venus. However, Jupiter will be by far the easiest to see.

The Moon and M44

Although likely overlooked by most “parade of the planet” watchers, the 92% illuminated waxing gibbous moon will be high in the eastern sky below Jupiter. Those with binoculars can spot the Beehive Cluster (M44), one of the brightest groups of stars, just below it.

Looking at building the “parade of the planet”.

Instead of limiting yourself to just one night, Saturday, February 28—which is both limiting and, for slow-moving planets, rather meaningless— observe the planets throughout February:

• Sunday, February 8: Venus becomes visible for the first time after so long out of the evening sky – although finding it in the west just after sunset will be a challenge.

• Thursday, February 19: See a 7% illuminated crescent moon in the west-southwest, close to Saturn, just above Mercury at its greatest eastern elongation from the sun (about 10 degrees above the horizon, 45 minutes after sunset at mid-northern latitudes). As a bonus, Saturn and month they will be about four degrees apart.

• Friday, February 20: Mercury will be highest in the post-sunset sky of its current appearance, with Saturn and a 14% illuminated crescent moon overhead.

• Thursday, February 26: Jupiter and a 77% waxing gibbous moon will be about four degrees apart.

The ‘Parade of the Planet’ that everyone missed

A rare superior triple conjunction of Venus, Mars and Mercury occurred in mid-January 2026 – but no one saw it. That’s because it occurred not only on the opposite side of the solar system, but also very close to the sun, only solar observatories able to identify the three planets in the glow of our star.

Venus, Mars and Mercury were at superior solar conjunction (when a planet crosses the far side of the Sun to Earth) on January 6, January 9, and January 21, respectively. The images came from the coronagraphs on ESA-NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the GOES-19 weather satellite – the latter featuring and new moon.

The planets in 2026

Although this “planet parade” will quickly fade, the outlook for planet watchers in 2026 is excellent. Mars moves from the evening to the morning sky and will become visible again before sunrise in April. More impressively, Venus rises in the post-sunset sky and by the end of March will settle as a super-bright.”Evening Star“, which shines at magnitude -3.8 – the third-brightest object after the sun and moon, and much brighter than Jupiter. Venus will be highest in the sky in August and brightest in late September, although the planetary culmination of 2026 will likely occur on June 9, when Venus and Jupiter will be in close conjunction in the evening sky, just below Mercury.