Mark your calendar: Seven major planets to shine in Baku's night sky Spectacular space event awaits stargazers / PHOTO

On the evening of Friday, February 28, residents of the Absheron Peninsula will be treated to a rare celestial event – the "Grand Parade of Planets.”

The press service of Baku State University (BSU) told Caliber.Az that according to the data of the BSU Astrophysics Department, seven major planets in our solar system — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — will be clearly visible from the sky on that night.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune will require a telescope for observation.

The planets will form a stunning arrangement across a section of the night sky, creating a breathtaking cosmic panorama. This "Grand Parade of Planets" is a rare phenomenon, occurring roughly once every 20 years.

Beyond being a visual marvel, these planetary alignments can provide valuable insights into our Solar System and offer a deeper understanding of our place in the universe.

The eight main planets of our Solar System orbit the Sun within the same flat plane, but at different speeds. Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, completes its orbit in just 88 Earth days, while Neptune takes about 165 Earth years to complete a single orbit.

This variance in orbital speeds causes some planets to align on the same side of the Sun at times, offering Earth a rare chance to see multiple planets in our night sky. Occasionally, all the planets line up in a row along the ecliptic, the path traced by the Sun, creating a magnificent display.

The most notable planetary alignments have had significant historical importance. In 1966, NASA scientist Gary Flandro predicted a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in 1977, which would allow for a “Grand Tour” of the outer Solar System. Thanks to this alignment, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft to explore the outer planets.

Voyager 1 passed by Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, while Voyager 2 visited all four of the outermost planets, becoming the first spacecraft to reach Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989.

Such alignments are not only important within our Solar System, but they are also crucial for astronomical research. Planetary alignments are used by astronomers to study exoplanets—planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. One of the key methods for discovering exoplanets involves observing how they cause a star’s light to dim when they pass in front of it.

The next significant planetary alignment will take place in late October 2028, followed by another in February 2034. A seven-planet alignment like this one will not occur again until 2040.

By Tamilla Hasanova