NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 2 January 2023: Planet Parade on show-Watch

The planets in our solar system are divided into two: Inner solar system, which consists of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, and Outer solar system which includes Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Although all these planets are located at a considerable distance from Earth, some of them can be seen during certain periods of the day. This includes Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Every 1000 years, Earth witnesses a very rare phenomenon where all these planets form a straight line.

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a mesmerizing image of Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars visible from Earth after sunset. This phenomenon is called a Planet Parade and will occur today and it will be a stunning sight to see with Venus bearing near the horizon. People need not worry about visibility from their place as it will be visible all across the globe, as long as the skies are clear.

The image was captured by Tunc Tezel who is a Turkey-based leading amateur astronomer and night sky photographer associated with the TWAN initiative. His specialty is capturing rare conjunctions and occultations of bright stars, planets and bright clusters near the Moon. The World At Night (TWAN) is an international effort to present stunning night photos and timelapse videos of the world’s landmarks against celestial attractions.

NASA’s explanation

Look up tonight and see a whole bunch of planets. Just after sunset, looking west, planets Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will all be simultaneously visible. Listed west to east, this planetary lineup will have Venus nearest the horizon, but setting shortly after the Sun. It doesn't matter where on Earth you live because this early evening planet parade will be visible through clear skies all around the globe. Taken late last month, the featured image captured all of these planets and more: the Moon and planet Mercury were also simultaneously visible. Below visibility were the planets Neptune and Uranus, making this a nearly all-planet panorama.

In the foreground are hills around the small village of Gokceoren, Kaş, Turkey, near the Mediterranean coast. Bright stars Altair, Fomalhaut, and Aldebaran are also prominent, as well as the Pleiades star cluster. Venus will rise higher in the sky at sunset as January continues, but Saturn will descend.