You have a few days to witness a remarkable event: the planets are aligning for a Grand Parade. Don't miss this celestial spectacle!

The Great Planet Parade is unfolding right now. The date of February 28, which is circulating online, is likely incorrect. By that time, Saturn will have disappeared, so you should enjoy this incredible spectacle today or tomorrow. A correspondent from KP.RU has confirmed this personally.

WHAT IS THE GREAT PARADE

In January, bloggers buzzed about a planetary parade in the sky! The sight was indeed mesmerizing, but there was a catch: the planetary lineup was not complete then. Mercury was missing.

KP.RU noted back then that while the beauty was astonishing, the main event awaited us at the end of February when elusive Mercury would join the show.

However, this statement carried a risk we were well aware of: Saturn was rapidly moving closer to the Sun, and would it still be visible at the end of February?

Since everything related to "solar system astronomy" (a very young Moon, a planet in the rays of the evening dawn) is extremely tenuous and depends on air clarity, brightness, horizon conditions, and the observer's experience, there was no guarantee.

Meanwhile, information about the "great parade" on February 28 began to spread across blogs. Most likely, these details were borrowed from Western sources, and the "Western countries," like the USA, are significantly further south than Russia, meaning their conditions do not always apply to us. In short, we had to wait and see.

At KP.RU, we decided: if we see all seven planets ourselves, we will report it. If not, there’s no need to stir up the public.

ARGUMENTS OUT OF NOWHERE

Meanwhile, in Russian science-related communities, an incredible debate ignited, as it often does from a spark.

It started with the question: will there be anything to see in February? But quickly shifted to more fundamental topics. Does a planetary parade exist, or is it a fabrication of astrologers? Is it permissible for a rational person to observe a planetary parade? Or is it pseudoscience and should be shunned?

The public got quite heated (we will share our opinion at the end of the text). Just a week ago, an influential blogger declared: that's it, Saturn is not visible, the topic of the Great February Parade is closed.

This was what needed to be verified.

Photo: Evgeny ARSYUKHIN. Go to the KP Photo Bank

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT EVENING

An anticyclone over Central Russia typically means a perfectly clear sky. Just what you need for "sunset astronomy."

No clouds over Moscow throughout the festive day of February 23. The sun sets at 5:50 PM. We prepare in advance: time will be short.

Equipment: a small binocular (for a wider field of view) and a telephoto lens (200 mm) for photography. Just 15 minutes after sunset, we begin scanning the still very bright sky through the binoculars. We know that Mercury will appear first since it's brighter. From there, we'll find Saturn.

Finding even a bright (and Mercury is bright) star in a light sky requires a special skill. At first, you might sweep your gaze over the same spot a hundred times, and then suddenly, you notice a star that has already ignited. How did you miss it before? Once you spot it, you won't lose it again. There are techniques: focusing on a specific point in the sky while scanning the surroundings with peripheral vision. Typically, everything will be found "on the periphery."

But techniques weren't needed: Mercury flared up in the binoculars at 6:20 PM. And about ten minutes later, it was clearly visible to the naked eye.

However, Saturn was still absent. The race began: it was getting darker, but the planets were descending. What would happen faster, the darkness or the sunset? Let's not forget that atmospheric murkiness rapidly increases near the horizon.

By around 6:40 PM, Saturn finally appeared. Pulling the binoculars away from my eyes, I tried to determine if it was visible without optics. It was! Barely, but visible.

I exhaled and scanned the entire sky. After the hard-earned Mercury-Saturn pair, dazzling Venus followed. Then came Jupiter, with Mars bringing up the rear. All the ancient planets!

Taking the binoculars again, I admired Uranus and Neptune for formality. The latter, however, didn’t show up well in the binoculars; it was between Saturn and Venus, which is also in the dawn sector. I dashed to grab a small telescope, and there it was.

Differentiating Uranus and Neptune among a host of stars is challenging even for the experienced. The color helps: Uranus is green, Neptune is "sea-colored." Although stars are also multicolored, once you take a look at these planets, it's immediately clear that their hue is not star-like. And there are no green stars at all.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON FEBRUARY 28

People who are familiar with astronomy "theoretically," rather than through direct observation, may wonder: can scientists really not calculate when a parade will happen and when it won't? Look, there are apps on every phone that show stars. Even the phone knows, but we don't.

The thing is, phones and other calculations demonstrate an ideal situation. They depict a mathematical horizon, drawing stars near the Sun that are, in reality, not visible.

Unfortunately, we get used to gadgets, and often even advanced communities report, for example: today the Moon will cover a star, hurry and observe. You think, wait, the Moon is almost full, and the star is faint; nothing will happen there. And indeed, in the morning, there are no observations in the communities, meaning no one saw anything.

This often happens with comets. Grand! Colossal! And then – photos from somewhere in South America, look at what's happening. People go, but it's a bust because it's low on the horizon, in perpetual horizon fogs and smogs, and additionally washed out by light.

Plus, as already mentioned, there's a non-critical attitude towards recommendations written for other latitudes. So, I'm not sure that the trick I described with Mercury and Saturn would work in Murmansk.

The Great Planet Parade can be observed on February 24-25

Photo: Shutterstock.

WHAT IS A PLANET PARADE, ANYWAY?

It's just a word that people invented. And people are free to give it whatever meaning they like.

An uninitiated person might expect the planets to line up in a row, like at a parade. One community took advantage of this: they showed Jupiter's moons (which are always in a line), saying, look, it has begun.

In reality, a parade is when planets gather in a more or less narrow sector of the sky. How narrow is debatable, but it's all irrelevant since whatever we decide to call a "parade" will be a "parade."

Today, the planets gathered at an angle of about 90 degrees. Should this be considered a "parade"? I think so, because you can see all the planets simultaneously just by slightly turning your head. It's very cool, and in my memory, this has never happened before. Yet some might say, "Well, what kind of parade is this?"

As for whether it's permissible for serious people to write about this... Planetary parades interest people. There's a complete lack of astronomical knowledge in the world and among us. Most people think, for example, that the dark part of the Moon (when it's not full) is the Earth's shadow. The main source of such ignorance is living in cities with their bright skies and looking at stars through screens. If people venture out into their urban courtyards, spurred by the talk of a planetary parade, that’s fantastic. Such an outing would yield more than a hundred "educational videos" about the dangers of astrology.

THE QUESTION AT HAND

What will happen on February 28?

On that evening, the Moon will join the company. So, it would seem, there’s a reason to declare February 28 as the day of the “Great Parade”. But the Moon's phase will be just 0.01. In fact, it won't be visible.