Heads Up for Tonight: Rare Celestial Event Tonight at Sunset

Beege Welborn

A rare celestial spectacle is unfolding: six planets are tracing a graceful arc across the evening sky.

On February 28, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will align along the ecliptic—the apparent path the Sun follows through our sky. Often called a planetary… pic.twitter.com/dI1NA9bT1t

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 26, 2026

...On February 28, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will align along the ecliptic—the apparent path the Sun follows through our sky. Often called a planetary parade, this isn't a perfect straight line in space but appears as a sweeping curve from our Earth-bound viewpoint, visible shortly after sunset.

Head outside 30–45 minutes after sunset and scan the west-southwest horizon. Mercury will hover low and faint near the fading glow of sunset. Venus will stand out brilliantly above it, often the brightest "star" in the sky (after the Moon). Saturn will shine nearby with a steadier, more subdued light.

Shift your gaze slightly toward the southeast, where Jupiter will gleam high and bright, impossible to miss. Uranus and Neptune join the lineup too, but they're much dimmer—Uranus lies about 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km) away, and Neptune around 2.7 billion miles (4.3 billion km). Spotting them will require binoculars or a small telescope under clear, dark skies.

This gathering occurs because all the planets orbit the Sun in roughly the same flat plane, so they periodically bunch up along that shared path from our perspective. The display should be observable over several evenings around February 28, giving you extra opportunities on clear nights.

Just a few days later, on March 3, a total lunar eclipse will transform the full Moon into a striking reddish-copper hue (a "Blood Moon") for about 58 minutes at peak totality. This event will be visible across parts of western North America, Oceania, Asia, and other regions, depending on your location: don't miss it.