‘Exceptional’ astronomical event visible from France tonight as seven plants align
The ‘planet parade’ will be visible from sunset
After this week the planets will not align again until 2040. Photo for illustrative purposes only
Fabio Lamanna/Shutterstock
Budding astronomers looking into the French sky tonight will be treated to the rare sight of seven planets exceptionally aligned.
The seven other planets in the solar system – Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus (Pluto is no longer considered a planet) – will line up in the night sky tonight.
Whilst they will not be in a perfect straight line, they will be close enough together to be visible next to each other during this ‘planet parade’.
The phenomenon is created as planets orbit the sun at different speeds, meaning they can find themselves at a similar position in the night sky relative to our position on earth.
A planetary alignment of six planets (excluding Mercury, the planet with the quickest orbit of the sun at only 88 days) was visible in January 2025 and alignments with five or six planets happen sporadically but one involving seven is rare.
The next such event is 15 years away in 2040.
How can I see the planets aligning?
The alignment was visible yesterday evening (February 26) and will be until Friday (February 28), but tonight (Thursday February 27) is the best chance to see it.
It will be visible just after sunset – around 18:30 depending on where you are in France – and soon after they will drop below the horizon in France.
You will need to face south/west. Jupiter and Saturn, being the largest, will be the easiest to spot, and will be more to the west.
It is may be possible to view the planets with the naked eye, but it is recommended to use a telescope or astronomical binoculars as some of the planets are extremely distant.
As always, the best viewing spots will be in areas with low light pollution, i.e away from cities and in the countryside.
The alignment will be visible throughout the night.
Read more: Our interview with the creator of France's summer stargazing extravaganza
Are you planning on watching the alignment? If you do, please send any photos you have of the spectacle to news@connexionfrance.com and we may feature them in a future story
