when is the planet parade

The big “planet parade” everyone is talking about in 2026 peaks around 28 February 2026 , with several nights before and after also giving good views just after sunset.

When Is the Planet Parade?

Key dates in 2026

Astronomers and space sites are pointing to 28 February 2026 as the headline date for a six‑planet “parade” in the evening sky.

On that evening:

Planets involved : Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Best time : About 30–60 minutes after local sunset , in the western sky, with a clear horizon.

Visibility window : The line‑up is visible on several evenings, roughly from the last week of February into early March , not just one night.

Think of 28 February as the “center” of the event: some locations see it best a couple of days earlier, others a day or two later.

Other planet parades in 2026

Planet parades aren’t a one‑time thing; several alignments happen through the year with different combinations of planets.

According to astronomical event listings for 2026, upcoming alignments include:

18 April 2026 (morning) – Smaller line‑up of Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Neptune before dawn.

12 June 2026 (evening) – Mini alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus after sunset.

12 August 2026 (morning) – Another big six‑planet parade: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune before sunrise.

14 November 2026 (morning) – Smaller parade of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter.

These aren’t as heavily hyped as the late‑February event, but they’re still genuine planet parades by common usage.

How and when to watch (practical tips)

For the February 28, 2026 evening parade:

Be outside 30–60 minutes after sunset.
Face west with as clear and dark a horizon as possible.
Expect to see Venus and Jupiter easily with the naked eye , Mercury possibly low and faint, and use binoculars or a telescope for Uranus and Neptune.

If you miss the exact date, try from about February 25 through March 2 , when the configuration is still impressive.

A simple example: if your local sunset is at 6:00 pm, plan to be set up and looking between 6:30 and 7:00 pm for the best chance to catch the whole line‑up in a single sweep of the sky.

Quick HTML table of 2026 planet parades

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Date (2026)</th>
      <th>Time of day</th>
      <th>Planets in parade</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>February 28</td>
      <td>Evening</td>
      <td>Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune [web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
      <td>Major 6-planet parade; best 30–60 minutes after sunset [web:1][web:3][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>April 18</td>
      <td>Morning</td>
      <td>Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Neptune [web:1]</td>
      <td>Smaller dawn alignment [web:1]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>June 12</td>
      <td>Evening</td>
      <td>Mercury, Jupiter, Venus [web:1]</td>
      <td>Compact 3-planet grouping after sunset [web:1]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>August 12</td>
      <td>Morning</td>
      <td>Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune [web:1]</td>
      <td>Another large 6-planet parade before sunrise [web:1]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>November 14</td>
      <td>Morning</td>
      <td>Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter [web:1]</td>
      <td>Small morning parade [web:1]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.

when is the planet parade