Astronomy enthusiasts will be treated this week to arranging planets in the night sky, which look like a “parade” from Earth.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will all be visible in the night sky due to short windows this Friday. Seminole State University is hosting an event. We are holding the 2025 Star Party’s Great Planet Parade.
Emil Bouler Planetarium staff and members of the Central Florida Astronomical Association will install a telescope next to the pond at the university’s Sanford/Lake Mary Campus this Friday from 7pm to 10pm. Public events are free and no pre-registration or tickets are required, but they are open to all ages.
Derek Demeter, planetarium director at Seminole State College, described this phenomenon as occurring every three to five years.
“If you travel over the solar system and see it from a bird’s eye view, you’ll see the sun in the center. Earth is a third planet. All planets appear to be on our side of the sun,” he said. “On a normal night, you may only see two or three. Seeing all of them in the sky at once is a much rarer opportunity.”
From our perspective, the planets appear to be all lined up in the sky. People at home can witness this phenomenon, but it helps to have telescopes for some planets that are not easily seen.
“There are only five visible planets in the sky: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The other planets Uranus and Neptune are invisible to the naked eye,” Demeter said. “Technically, there’s only 5 available to see with just the empty eyes. To get the other two, you’ll need to check it using a telescope.”
Demeter encouraged visitors to appear early at the event for the best chance to see all the planets at once.
“What we’re trying to do is look at Mercury, Venus and Saturday around 7pm and look at other planets that are much higher in the sky. So there’s a limit because Mercury and Saturn are really low in the sky right now,” he said. “There’s a very small window, about 20-30 minutes, between 7pm and 7:30pm, to catch mercury and Saturn.”
Events are weather dependent, but Friday’s forecasts are partially predicting cloudy skies. Demeter said, “We’re out here,” in partially cloudy or more clear conditions.
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If you’re going
The 2025 Star Party’s Great Planet Parade will take place on February 28th from 7pm to 10pm at 100 Weldon Blvd. In Sanford. The event is free to attend and open to the public. Details: Seminolestate.edu
Original issue: February 26, 2025, 3:30pm EST
