How to See a “Planetary Parade” of 4 Bright Planets in the January Night Sky (Video)

Four bright planets are visible together in the night sky this month in what NASA calls a “planetary parade” that is a must-see for astronomers.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will each take their turns as stars in the night sky in January (Mars will be closest to Earth of the year this weekend), so if you’re wondering what some of the most striking bright “stars” are in the sky this month, they may actually be planets.

“In January, you will have the opportunity to admire four bright planets with a panoramic view,” said Preston Dyches of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. in a video guide to January night sky. “These opportunities to observe multiple planets are not very rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth taking a look.”

Sky map showing the planetary alignment visible after dark in January 2025. Jupiter is close to Aldebaran, the bull's eye star in the constellation Taurus. — This NASA sky map shows the location of Saturn and Venus in the early evening in the southwest sky in January 2025, while Juptier shines overhead all night. Mars is visible in the eastern sky later in the evening. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

All month, Saturn And Venus will shine in the southwest sky just after sunset and during the early hours of the night, Dyches said.

Jupiteras for him, will shine in the sky all night. March will rise in the eastern sky during the night and may take on a bright red color in telescopes and binoculars. (If you are looking for equipment to view the planets, check out our best telescopes guide and best binoculars preview for tips on what to use.)

Even though all four planets appear aligned in the night sky, this so-called “alignment” is nothing new, Dyches said.

“While it’s true that they will appear more or less along a line across the sky, that’s what planets always do,” he added. “This line is called the eclipticand it represents the planet of solar system in which the planets revolve around the sun.

an illustration of the night sky

Venus and Saturn will appear to shine very close together in the night sky on January 18, 2025 as part of a planetary conjunction. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)

Because the planets are all in the same relative plane, they can appear close together from our perspective on Earth.

Venus and Saturn, for example, will appear extremely close together on January 17 and 18 in what astronomers call a planetary conjunction. This meeting of Venus and Saturn is one of the many unmissable events of our list of night sky must-sees for January.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn may offer dazzling sights this month, but they’re not the only planets in the night sky. They’re just the most visible, Dyches said.

“Uranus And Neptune are there too, technically,” Dyches explained in the video. “But they don’t appear as bright planets.” You’ll need a telescope to find the two gas giants in the night sky, he said. recommended.

Editor’s note: If you take a good photo of Venus, Mars, Saturn, or Jupiter and want to share it with Space.com readers, send your photo(s), comments, along with your name and location to [email protected].