Solar and lunar eclipses, shooting stars… the universe puts on no shortage of jaw-dropping shows, and this planetary alignment is one of them. The planet parade happening this weekend will be visible to the naked eye and will feature six planets lined up across the sky.
What planets will form the alignment?
A planet parade is an astronomical event where several planets in our Solar System appear close together in the sky from Earth’s point of view, tracing roughly the same path along the plane of their orbits. While they’re not in a straight line in space, the geometry of their orbits makes them look grouped across the evening sky.
For the February 2026 event, six planets will appear in this parade: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
When and where to see the planet parade in SoCal?
All six planets will be above the horizon after sunset on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are bright enough to be spotted without optical aid (under clear skies).
Mercury, low near the western horizon, might be trickier and fades into twilight quickly. Uranus and Neptune are too dim for unaided vision and usually require binoculars or a small telescope to pick them out, GeoNews explains.
Around the L.A. area, your prime viewing window for catching the planet parade will likely fall roughly between about 6 – 6:30 PM, facing west to southwest.
For the best visibility, you’ll need a spot with little to no light pollution. Some nearby options with darker skies include the Big Bear Lake area, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Malibu Creek State Park, and Leo Carrillo State Beach.
When will the next planet parade happen?
Rare alignments of this many planets don’t happen every year. After the February 28, 2026 lineup, the next notable parade is forecast for October 2028, though that one is expected to include five planets instead of six.
The next six-planet grouping is predicted around February 2034, Newsweek reports, making this month’s alignment almost a once-in-a-decade event.