Don’t Miss Saturday’s Sky Show As The Moon Joins The ‘Planet Parade’

Topline

The moon will this Saturday, Aug. 17, join a “planet parade” building in the morning sky. As it does so, it will brush past the Pleiades, a sparkling open cluster of stars that’s best known for dominating the winter night sky. Best seen about an hour before sunrise, bright planets Venus and Jupiter will continue to dominate in the east while Saturn brightens in the south. Rising below Venus and Jupiter will be Mercury, though Uranus and Neptune — despite also being in the sky — are not visible to the naked eye.

Key Facts

‘planet Parades’ And ‘planetary Alignments’

This planet parade follows one in the evening sky in February, when five planets were visible together. Strictly speaking, they do not exist because they are entirely due to Earth’s point of view of the rest of the solar system as it orbits the sun. Although all the planets orbit the sun on the same plane, they do so at vastly different distances and, therefore, apparent speeds as seen from Earth. For example, Venus and Jupiter appear very close to each other, but while Jupiter is four times farther away than Venus. Planet Parades always occur just before sunrise or sunset because Mercury — which is very close to the sun, relatively speaking — is usually lost in the sun’s glare. When it is visible, it’s not far from it. Either way, nothing is ever “aligned”—that’s an error.

What’s Next In The ‘planet Parade’

The planet parade really gets going this weekend as the moon joins the fray. On Monday, Aug. 18, a 26% crescent moon will be seen near Venus and Jupiter. On Tuesday, Aug. 19, Mercury will be at its highest in the morning sky as a 16%-lit crescent moon forms a curve with Venus and Jupiter. On Wednesday, Aug. 20, a 9%-lit crescent moon will be close to Venus, with Mercury below and Jupiter above. On Thursday, Aug. 21, a 4%-lit waning crescent moon will be beneath Jupiter and Venus, close to Mercury. The following planet parade will occur in October 2028, when five planets will be visible together, again before sunrise.

Further Reading

ForbesA ‘Planet Parade,’ A ‘Black Moon’ And A Meteor Shower: The Night Sky In August 2025By Jamie CarterForbesWhy Friday May See The Perseid Meteor Shower At Its BestBy Jamie CarterForbesWhen To See The Fabulous Sky Show On Tuesday As ‘Shooting Stars’ FallBy Jamie Carter

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