Five planets will be visible in the starry night on March 28! Here's how to check them out

Later this month, astronomy enthusiasts will have the opportunity to witness a unique planetary alignment as five planets of our solar system will be visible from Earth. On March 28, after sunset, Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, and Venus are anticipated to align and appear together in a specific area of the sky. While Mercury and Jupiter will be visible near the horizon and stand out due to their brightness, Venus will shine brighter and higher up in the sky.

To observe Uranus in the alignment, binoculars will be required, reported UK's Daily Mail. However, Mars should be visible close to the first quarter of the moon without the need for any special equipment. Although it is common to spot a few planets in the sky at any given time, observing an alignment of five planets is relatively rare. The last time this alignment occurred was last year, and before that, in 2020 and 2016.

In the previous year, observers in the northern hemisphere were fortunate enough to witness an extraordinary event where all five planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, were visible in the sky simultaneously.

The planets are expected to align within a 50-degree sector of the sky, making them appear closer together from Earth in a small region above. It is important to note that this visual phenomenon is different from an astronomical alignment, which occurs when planets are simultaneously on the same side of the sun.

Beth Biller from the University of Edinburgh explained to MailOnline that some planets would be more visible than others during this alignment. She said: "Venus and Jupiter are both very bright and easy to pick out and you may have already seen them close together over the past few weeks."

"Mars is a bit fainter, but still easily observed with the naked eye. Mercury starts getting tricky - you need to be at a dark site with a clear view of the horizon if you want to see Mercury," she added.

"Uranus is the faintest and hardest to see - you'll need binoculars or a telescope to see Uranus."

'Observing all planets at once maybe challenging'

According to Rick Fienberg, the Senior Contributing Editor at Sky & Telescope who spoke to Daily Mail, observing all five planets on March 28 might be challenging and may depend on one's location. "Unless you have an unobstructed, nearly flat western horizon and a clear sky, you may not be able to see Jupiter and Mercury," he explained to FOX 35 regarding those in the US. While it may require specialised equipment to spot Uranus, Mr. Fienberg believes that all five planets should be visible with binoculars.

If anyone misses the event, other planetary alignments will occur later this year. In less than a month, on April 2, Mercury, Uranus, Venus, and Mars will once again align in a 35-degree sector of the sky. On April 24, another alignment will occur, this time in a 40-degree sector, with Mars, Venus, Uranus, and Mercury gathering together.