Approaching planets: how to observe this unique phenomenon in the sky in June?

This is the alignment of the planets of the most beautiful solar system before… 102 years!

A unique chance to observe, in the same area of ​​the sky, the 7 big stars of our galaxy, which will be exceptionally close to each other for several days.

You will even be able to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the naked eye.

To catch a glimpse of Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, all you need is a pair of binoculars.

This unique event, which is only supposed to happen again in 102 years. The planets and the Moon will form a straight line, and will be visible simultaneously for several nights in a row in June.

According to the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE), the phenomenon will be fully visible at the end of the night between June 14 and 27, and the “maximum” rapprochement should take place on the night of June 22.

Fortunately, the weather should allow the curious to observe the show without difficulty.

It will therefore be necessary to get up early, or go to bed late, to observe the spectacular rapprochement of the planets of the solar system, since the event will be particularly visible before dawn, that is to say, around 4:30 a.m.

The horizon in front of you must be clear, so as not to miss the appearance of Mercury, shortly before sunrise.

“We will have to be on the lookout, because it will not last for hours. I’d say about 15 minutes from when Mercury is high enough to be visible to the end of twilight. We will no longer be in the dark night”, explains Pascal Descamps, head of the astronomical calculations and information service of the IMCCE, in the columns of Le Parisien.

This type of phenomenon had not occurred since 1997, and with such intensity, not since 1984. According to the forecasts of observers, such a rapprochement should not occur again before November 2124, that is to say in 102 years.

This festival of planets is not to be confused with an alignment of the planets. Indeed, even if, visually, the stars form a “line”, they are not physically on the same axis, as in the case of an alignment, also called “parade of planets”, another very rare phenomenon.