Here’s How To See Next Week’s Planetary Parade In Iowa

Space lovers, get ready for next week.

Nature and space have really flexed in 2024. The Northern Lights were visible over parts of the country a few weeks ago and of course we had the eclipse that no one would quit talking about. Now we're set for a "planetary parade".

That's a legit term, by the way. It means all planets will be in alignment. According to Forbes, you'll only be able to see two planets with the naked eye but if you get a telescope you can see more.

The planetary parade will be early in the morning on June 3rd, just before sunrise.

It will be most visible on the East Coast but we'll still be able to see it. Just looking at it, you'll be able to see Mars and Saturn. If you get a telescope, you'll also be able to see Neptune and Uranus. Because the sun is so bright, neither Jupiter nor Mercury will probably be visible at all.

Even though the planets look close to each other in a planetary parade, they're still millions of miles apart. It's rare for more than 2 planets to align at once because we all orbit the sun at different paces. Here it's 365 days. Meanwhile on Neptune, an orbit takes 60,190 days. Imagine that for a year.

It's an early wakeup call for a Monday morning but it could be a cool one. As long as the skies are clear we should see it. You can get more details about the planetary parade on Star Walk's website.