See Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn In ‘Planet ‘Parade’ On Sunday
Topline
A rare six-planet parade will stretch across the sky before sunrise on Sunday, Aug. 24, with four worlds visible to the naked eye. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be joined by Mercury low on the horizon just before the sun rises. Uranus and Neptune complete the line-up, though these two outer planets require binoculars or a telescope to see. The spectacle won’t last long — by next week, Mercury will slip back into the sun’s glare, leaving only five planets on display.
Planet parade 2025: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn shine brightest before dawn, while Mercury, Uranus, and Neptune complete the planetary line-up.
getty
Key Facts
Best seen at least an hour before sunrise, Venus and Jupiter will be the easiest to see, in the eastern sky. They will be about 12 degrees apart — about the width of an outstretched fist — according to astronomy website When The Curves Line Up.
Saturn lingers low in the west-southwest before dawn, fading as sunrise nears. The moon is not in the sky during the parade this week.
Mercury, the smallest and hardest to find of the group, will appear just above the horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise. Find an unobstructed view toward the east for the best chance of spotting it. Binoculars may be required if there’s haze on the horizon.
The “Swift Planet” is not easy to see because it appears below 10 degrees altitude, according to NASA. It will remain easily visible until around Aug. 26, after which it will sink into the eastern horizon. Seeing the outer ice giants Uranus and Neptune requires binoculars or a telescope.
Planet-rise and planet-set times for an exact location vary, so use an online planetarium. The following “planet parade” will happen during October 2028, when five planets will be visible together, again before sunrise.
Looking east 45 minutes before sunrise from mid-northern latitudes on August 24, 2025, three planet are visible, with Saturn bright in the southern sky.
Stellarium
Stargazing Around The ‘planet Parade’
On the left of Venus and Jupiter will be Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini, while to the lower-right of the planets will be Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation and, beyond it, the three bright stars in a vertical line — Orion’s Belt.
What’s Next In The Night Sky
After this week’s dazzling “planet parade,” skywatchers can still look forward to a packed skywatching calendar in September. Only three bright planets — Saturn, Jupiter and Venus — will remain visible to the naked eye after Mercury retreats into the glare of the sun. However, the month ahead promises dramatic eclipses, a planetary conjunction and Saturn shining at its biggest, brightest and best of all of 2025.
The first highlight arrives on Sept. 7, when a “blood moon” total lunar eclipse graces the skies across much of Asia, Africa and western Australia. On Sept. 19, a thin waning crescent moon will appear alongside Venus and Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, in a beautiful close conjunction. Just two days later, on Sept. 21, parts of the Pacific Ocean will witness a partial solar eclipse. Also on Sept. 21, Saturn will reach opposition, when the ringed planet sits directly opposite the sun in Earth’s sky. It will thus appear brighter and larger than at any other time of the year.