Why in News?

• Recently, Five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus will align in the sky which is often called a planetary parade or alignment, and will be visible to the naked eye.

Highlights

• The best viewing time is on March 28^th 2023, shortly after the sun sets below the horizon.
• Venus will be the most visible planet, followed by Mars with its special orange hue.
• Uranus will be near Venus but difficult to detect without proper equipment, while Mercury and Jupiter will appear at the bottom.
• The last time these five planets aligned was in 2004. The alignment is often referred to as a planetary parade and can be seen in the nighttime sky.
• Experts have pointed out that the visibility of certain planets in the alignment depends on certain conditions, such as light pollution and the location of the viewer.
• A similar alignment occurred in June 2022, where five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – aligned.
• However, this lineup will not occur again until 2040.
• Light pollution is the excessive use of artificial light that brightens the night sky and disrupts the natural darkness.This affects the observability of celestial bodies.