Rare Planetary Parade To Light Up Maryland Skies Saturday Night

CALIFORNIA, Md. — Maryland residents who look toward the western sky shortly after sunset Feb. 28 may see an unusual gathering of planets stretching across the evening horizon.

The event, often called a “planetary parade,” is not a rare straight-line alignment in space, but rather a predictable visual effect caused by the way planets orbit the sun.

According to NASA, “The planets of our solar system always appear along a line in the sky. This line, referred to as the ecliptic, represents the plane in which the planets orbit, seen from our position within the plane itself.”

That shared orbital plane is why multiple planets can appear grouped together from Earth’s perspective, even though they remain separated by millions of miles in space.

When And Where To Look

The best opportunity to see the planetary grouping will be shortly after sunset.

According to Live Science, the optimal viewing window will be “approximately 30 to 45 minutes after sunset,” and observers should look “due west with a clear horizon.”

For Southern Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay region, that means finding an unobstructed western view away from trees, buildings or heavy light pollution.

What Will Be Visible

Not all planets will be equally easy to spot.

According to Space.com, Venus and Jupiter will be the brightest and easiest to see with the naked eye. Saturn and Mercury may also be visible, though Mercury will sit low near the horizon and can be challenging to pick out in twilight. With Jupiter and Saturn being the biggest planets in the solar system, they will be easiest to see. To learn more about planet sizes from NASA, click here.

Uranus and Neptune, however, are much dimmer. Space.com reports that both outer planets “will require binoculars or a telescope” for viewing.

Visibility will depend heavily on weather conditions and local light pollution. Even thin haze can obscure planets close to the horizon.

No Gravitational Effects Expected

Despite social media speculation that planetary alignments can influence tides, earthquakes or human behavior, scientists say there is no evidence to support those claims.

NASA explains that planetary alignments are regular, predictable events and do not produce unusual gravitational effects on Earth.

The Feb. 28 planetary parade offers skywatchers a chance to see much of the solar system at once, not because the planets are clustering together in space, but because Earth’s vantage point places them along the same apparent path across the sky.

If skies remain clear, Maryland residents willing to brave the late-February chill may catch a sweeping arc of worlds that rarely share the same stage after sunset.

Upcoming Planetary Alignments

• Late October 2028 — Five planets visible at once before sunrise
• Late February 2034 — Five planets visible at once after sunset (Venus and Mercury challenging to observe), NASA

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