Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

A major planetary alignment, in which five planets of the Solar System will appear within a narrow sector of the sky, is expected to occur on September 8, 2040, AzerNEWS reports.

According to Lyudmila Koshman, Head of the Methodological Support Department at the Moscow Planetarium, a smaller alignment of four planets will take place in late April and early May 2026. However, it will be difficult to observe, as all participating planets will be positioned close to the Sun and largely hidden in its glare.

“The next major planetary parade will occur on September 8, 2040. On that day, five planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—will gather in the evening sky within a narrow sector of about 20 degrees,” the astronomer explained.

Koshman also noted that a thin crescent Moon will be visible between Venus and Saturn at the same time, creating a striking celestial configuration that may be visible shortly after sunset, depending on local observing conditions.

She also reminded that the term “planetary parade” is not an official scientific definition. In astronomy, it is mainly used for popularization purposes. It generally refers to the visual appearance of several planets grouped within a relatively small area of the sky—typically within 20–30 degrees when seen from Earth.

Such alignments are classified as “small” when four planets are involved and “large” when five or more planets appear in the same region of the sky. Small planetary alignments occur roughly every 20 years, while larger multi-planet gatherings are significantly rarer.

Interestingly, while these events may look like planets are close together in space, they are actually separated by hundreds of millions of kilometers. Their apparent alignment is purely a line-of-sight effect from Earth’s perspective—something that makes these events especially fascinating for both professional astronomers and casual skywatchers.