Planetary Alignment 2025 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine

You will probably have heard news that a ‘planetary alignment’ is visible in January 2025 and into February, but are wondering which planets are actually visible and how special this ‘alignment’ is.

January and February 2025 are good months to observe the planets (except Mercury) as Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are all visible in the night sky.

Get weekly stargazing advice by listening to our Star Diary podcast and signing up to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter

It’s actually been a great start to 2025, with Venus appearing alongside the crescent moon on January 3rd and Mars having a close encounter with the full moon on January 13th.

Venus and Saturn have also moved closer together, coming closer together on January 18 and still visible together in the early evenings thereafter.

But what does this so-called ‘planetary alignment’ in 2025 really mean? And is it really something special?

Planetary alignments and parades

Whether you call it a planetary alignment or a planetary parade, it’s not uncommon for multiple planets to be visible in the night sky together.

And it is not uncommon for planets to be visible in a ‘line’ across the sky.

There is an imaginary line that the Sun’s path traces across the daytime sky and this is known as the ‘ecliptic’.

The ecliptic is due to the fact that Earth and all the other planets in the solar system formed from the same flat disk of gas and dust that once surrounded our infant Sun.

This means that the planets in the solar system all occupy roughly the same orbital plane – Earth included – and therefore all more or less follow the line of the ecliptic in the sky.

So when multiple planets are visible in the sky, they will be located roughly along this line. And this is one of the ways to tell the difference between a planet and a star.

This is also why so-called ‘planetary alignments’ really are an inevitability.

But that doesn’t make them any less special to see for yourself.

Let’s take a look at what this ‘planetary alignment’ will really look like in January and February 2025.

January 2025

Take out around 19:00 UTC in January 2025 and you will be able to see the planetary alignment of Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn as well as Uranus and Neptune visible in the sky.

At this time Mars will be in the east, Jupiter in the southeast, Venus and Saturn close together in the southwest.

Jupiter is visible above the constellation Orion, so it’s easy to spot.

Venus looks like a remarkably bright star in the twilight sky, and is actually quite beautiful to look at

Mars is bright and high in the sky, having reached opposition on January 16, 2025.

Uranus and Neptune will be visible, but you’ll need dark skies and a telescope to spot them.

Uranus is also high in the night sky, visible to the ‘right’ of Jupiter, forming a triangle with Jupiter and the open star cluster of the Pleiades.

Neptune is harder to see, visible only with a telescope in the same area of ​​the sky as Venus and Saturn, and loses altitude as January draws to a close.

This image continues toward the end of January, but you’ll notice that Venus and Saturn are getting farther and farther apart each evening.

Why January 21?

You will probably have heard that January 21st was mentioned as the best night to see this ‘planetary alignment’, but the truth is that the planets will be in basically the same position before and after this date.

However, what happens from January 21 onwards is that the Moon continues to wane and lose its luster, becoming lower and rising only after midnight.

In late January and into February 2025, for example, the Moon will only rise in the morning, and even then it will only be a very thin crescent.

February 2025

The planets will continue to be visible in the night sky in February 2025, but increasing daylight and loss of altitude will mean that this ‘planetary alignment’ will not last.

In reality, the best time to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in February 2025 will be at the beginning of the month.

But there are a few good stargazing spots to look out for.

On February 1st there will be a brilliant chance to spot something quite spectacular and that is Venus, Saturn and Neptune in the same twilight region of the sky surrounding a very thin crescent, only 12% lit.

You’ll be able to see Venus and Saturn with the naked eye, but you’ll need a clear, dark sky and binoculars (if not a telescope) to see Neptune.

After the first week of February, Neptune’s altitude combined with the lengthening days make it unviable as an observable object in the night sky.

On February 9, Mars will be very close to the Moon.

And on February 24th, Mars will appear to reverse direction, returning from a westward motion to an eastward motion.

By the end of February, Mars will be considerably dimmed, but will still be high in the sky in the southwest around 22:30 UTC.

Jupiter remains bright and well-placed throughout February: look out for a conjunction with the Moon on February 6.

The planet and the Moon will be side by side in the night sky, Jupiter to the ‘left’ of the Moon, and both will set in the early hours of February 7.

Lengthening days as we enter mid-March will make the planets harder to see.

So enjoy the last weeks of winter while you can, go out on a clear night and make the most of the planets.

Share your sighting experiences and photos with us by emailing [email protected]