Has your science teacher ever asked you to randomly place several planets around the sun while drawing a picture of the solar system? Have you ever wondered, as a child, if the planets are trying to outdo themselves in their race to revolve around the sun? Have you ever rushed to look up at the sky and take a look at a bright spot that is actually Jupiter?
This year, sky watchers were excited to discover that the Universe will be hosting multiple unique celestial event shows in July and August.
One of these shows is known as the ‘Planet Parade’, which is widely used in astronomy to explain the alignment of multiple planets in a row.
The parades of planets are of different types and their occurrence depends on the number of planets that line up on one side of the Sun; Alignment of three planets is common and can be seen twice a year, a parade of four planets occurs once a year, five planets align once every 19 years, while the arrangement of all planets is a rarer event which happens about once. 170 years
2020, which will be remembered as a year of rare and unusual events, also occupies a special place for such interesting astronomical events, with one of those Planetary Parades on July 4, 2020, where all the planets of the solar system will be aligned on one side of the sun. Such an agreement will not be seen again before the year 2161.
Interestingly, a similar event occurred on February 2, 1982, when eight out of nine planets (remember Pluto was considered a planet back then?) Aligned. This year Pluto, the poor space rock, and the excluded dwarf planet will join the parade, but what makes this event special is that the eight members of the planet’s family are lining up. Perhaps Pluto is just being polite to bless his adoptive family with his presence on this remarkable day.
