Aside from some of the best weather that the District has had since fall, this weekend is going to have one of the rarest celestial events of the year!
This Saturday, February 28th, there is going to be a ‘planetary parade‘ of six planets aligned in a row, all visible from the Washington, D.C. area.
The same event won’t be happening again until 2040, so you’re not going to want to skip on a chance to see it for yourself!
When is the planetary alignment going to be visible?
The planetary alignment is going to be at its most visible in the D.C. area this weekend, specifically on Saturday evening after the sun sets.
The planets included in the ‘planetary parade’ are going to include: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Fortunately, with a mostly sunny forecast for Saturday evening, it seems like visibility won’t be a major hurdle when it comes to spotting the alignment.
How to see the planetary parade for yourself
The prime time to go and view the alignment is going to be shortly after the sun sets, between 6:15 pm and 7:00 pm!
To give yourself the best chances of seeing all six planets, you’ll want to be in a place with an unobstructed view facing west around 30 minutes before the sun sets.
For the absolute best odds of seeing the alignment in its entirety, you’ll want to venture out into the parts of the DMV area that have less light pollution.
The window to see the alignment is relatively short because it needs to be dark enough to see all the stars (and planets), but it has to be before the lowest planet in the alignment (Mercury) sets at roughly 6:50 pm.