The five brightest planets align in the night sky

For the second time this year, the five brightest planets of our solar system – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars – will be visible simultaneously in the night sky.

The planets will form a line that rises from the horizon in the western sky and it will be easier to see after the sunset this Thursday, October 18th. However, every month, these planets will be visible in the same general areas of the sky.

Mercury and Venus will be more visible to the west and closer to the horizon, while Saturn will be higher up in the sky and to the northwest, Mars will be visible even higher. On the night of October 18th, Venus and Mercury will be side by side. Because Mercury is the weakest and most difficult to see of these planets, having Ultra-Bright Venus by its side will make Mercury easier to see.

Later in the month, October 24, you may also be able to see Uranus and Neptune in the night sky – they may be a little harder to spot.

This fantastic show does not always come so often. Although this is the second time that the planets are visible in 2018 and twice in 2016, it was already a decade since the five brightest planets were visible together in the night sky.

The next time the five brightest planets will line up in the night sky in this way, it will be in July 2020, but instead of being so close to each other, as they will appear this month, they will be spread across the sky and probably more difficult to see.