You can see a rare “planetary parade” of six planets in the sky in late February 2026, with the best single evening around February 28, 2026 , shortly after sunset.

When to Look

  • Main date: February 28, 2026.
  • Overall window: late February to about early March 2026 (the lineup is visible over several nights, not just one).
  • Best time each night:
    • About 15–30 minutes after local sunset , and within the first hour after sunset.
* This is when all the planets are still above the horizon, especially fast‑setting Mercury and Venus.

By region (examples)

The “tightest” alignment date shifts slightly by location, but it’s always around the same few days:

  • Cities like New York, Mexico City, Athens, Tokyo : ~February 28.
  • Cities like London, Berlin, Mumbai, Beijing : ~March 1.
  • More northerly places like Reykjavík : ~March 2.

You can think of February 28 as the middle of the show, with a couple of good nights on either side.

Which Planets Align?

Six planets will be strung across the sky in a gentle arc along the ecliptic:

  • Naked eye (no telescope needed in dark skies):
    • Mercury
    • Venus
    • Saturn
    • Jupiter
  • Needs binoculars or a telescope (they’re dim):
    • Uranus
    • Neptune

They won’t form a perfectly straight “line,” but they will all sit in the same general band of sky, which is what astronomers casually call a planetary parade or alignment.

Quick view table (HTML as requested)

Below is an HTML table summarizing the key “when to see the planets align” details:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Aspect</th>
      <th>Details</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Main alignment date</td>
      <td>February 28, 2026 (global median best date)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Overall viewing window</td>
      <td>Late February to early March 2026, with best views over several evenings</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Best time of night</td>
      <td>15–30 minutes after local sunset, within the first hour after sunset</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Where to look</td>
      <td>Low in the western sky near the sunset point, following an arc upward along the ecliptic</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Planets visible to naked eye</td>
      <td>Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Planets needing optics</td>
      <td>Uranus and Neptune (use binoculars or a small telescope)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Example regional “best dates”</td>
      <td>Feb 28 for New York/Mexico City/Tokyo/Athens; Mar 1 for London/Berlin/Mumbai/Beijing; Mar 2 for Reykjavík</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Extra features</td>
      <td>Nearly full Moon near Jupiter on Feb 28, adding a bright companion in the lineup</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

How to Spot the Alignment

  • Go out with a clear, low western horizon (no tall buildings or trees blocking sunset).
  • Start scanning the west just after sunset:
    1. Find bright Venus near the horizon.
2. Look slightly above for **Mercury** , which can be faint in the twilight.

3. Higher up along the same arc you can find **Saturn** , then dim **Neptune** close by.

4. Still farther up is **Uranus** , and **Jupiter** will be the bright beacon higher in the sky.

A nearly full Moon close to Jupiter on February 28 will make that part of the sky especially eye‑catching, though it can wash out the faintest planets a bit.

Extra context and “latest news” flavor

  • This six‑planet alignment is being widely covered as a rare skywatching highlight of 2026 , sometimes compared to earlier multi‑planet “parades” in 2022–2025.
  • Astronomy outlets and apps stress that alignments like this are visual line‑ups from Earth’s viewpoint , not the planets literally clustering in space in a straight line.
  • For exact local timing, many guides recommend using a planet‑tracking app that shows your sky with real‑time positions of each planet.

In short: head outside on February 28, 2026 , or the surrounding nights, about 30 minutes after sunset , face west , and follow the glowing arc of planets up the sky to catch the alignment.

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