Stargazers treated to rare sight as seven planets align in UK skies

Stargazing enthusiasts have been treated to a rare “planetary parade”, with seven planets coming together for the celestial display.

Skywatchers were able to see all seven other planets in the Earth’s solar system simultaneously, although a telescope was needed to observe them all.

Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, Mercury and Saturn were all visible among the stars simultaneously between sunset and 6.30pm, after which Saturn set.

Liam Bennett, 42, saw the display in Henley-on-Thames and said: “I heard about the planetary alignment being best viewed just after sunset and was amazed to see them all so clearly, a real delight.”

Amateur astronomer Martin Lewis, 64, from St Albans, said “the planets beautifully complemented the majesty of the sky”, adding: “(It’s) been a busy evening.

“Set up about 4pm … Venus was hidden by a tree when started at 5.45 so I went onto Jupiter which is high overhead.

“After 20mins of Jupiter, Venus had cleared tree and I started to image that.

“I’m an amateur astronomer. I’m trying to capture the beauty in Jupiter, the majesty and awe of Mars.

“Venus is special and looks different at different wavelengths. It was a wonderful tranquil scene with a beautiful graded fading light.”

Jessica Lee, astronomer education officer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London, previously explained: “The Earth and all the planets all orbit the Sun on the same plane, so they’re all sort of in alignment as they go around the Sun.

“They all go around the Sun at different speeds, so their orbits take different amounts of time, which means from our perspective on Earth, they appear to move across the sky.

“Because they’re on these fixed orbits, occasionally they do all end up in the sky at the same time.”

The rare spectacle is expected to be the last time all seven planets align in such a way until 2040.

Skygazing events were held across the country, including free open evenings at the Mills Observatory in Dundee and astronomer-guided gazing in the Brecon Beacons offering enthusiasts a chance to watch the planetary parade alongside experts.

A spokesperson for the Mills Observatory said: “We’ve been really busy this evening.

“More than 400 people showed up and there were queues out the front door.”