On June 3, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere with clear skies and a little can do will witness a rare ‘Parade of Planets’ with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune aligning for our viewing pleasure.
The good news? Six out of nine of our solar system’s luminaries will be visible at once. The bad news? It won’t be easy to see the whole half dozen, and you’ll have to get up early to try.
But sometimes kids, it’s a lot of work to have fun.
How to view
As with all awe-inspiring cosmic phenomena, the closer to dark sky communities and the further from light pollution you get, the more prime your view will be. The window for wonder is precariously short and begins 20 minutes before sunrise while facing east.
For those on EST, that means the godless hour of 5:06 a.m. Folks in Florida can look to the east around 6:05 a.m. and the west coast can look forward to a 5:02 a.m. showtime.
Not all the planets in the cosmic suspect lineup will be equally visible; blood-hued warrior planet Mars and stern, showboating Saturn will be easy to spot with the naked eye. Mercury and Jupiter will be visible to a lesser degree and Uranus and Neptune, the most remote members of the planetary team will require binoculars or a telescope to see in their full glory.
As Time Magazine reports, the planetary parade is mostly an optical illusion. Unlike the 1974 alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune captured by the Voyager spacecraft, the planets visible on June 3 will be flung across the sky at varied depths, distances, and positions.
Time likens the phenomenon to, “randomly placing six different people at six different spots in a field and positioning yourself so that you can gather them all in your camera lens at once.”
Upcoming alignments
If you miss your chance to see the predawn sky on June 3, all hope is not lost as the planets may be spotted for several days before or after around the same early hour.
Beyond that, another six-planet parade will be visible to we earthlings come Virgo season on August 28, 2024
Astrologically speaking, when the planets align, Mars will be in the hellfire and hot pants sign of Aries, Uranus will be wilding out in the bucolic, food-motivated pastures of Taurus, Mercury, and Jupiter will be in hyperverbal, controversy as cardio Gemini and Saturn and Neptune will be wading through the nitrous balloons and pudding pools of Pisces.
What signs will be most affected by this alignment? Read on to learn more.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)
Come June 3, the sun, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury will all fly high in the ethers of Gemini, ’tis the season for the people of the twins. This cosmic lineup will lend a little extra space dust and add good to your already prodigious powers of communication. Now, more than ever, what you speak can become what you bring forth. Think big, bellow true, and keep clear of lowly conversations, exhausting gossip, and all else that would distract you from becoming a grander, wiser, lighter, and brighter version of yourself.
PISCES (February 19 – March 20)
With the sun in a fellow mutable sign and Neptune, your ruling planet and Saturn, the luminary of karmic lessons all swimming in your bathwater Pisces, the time is nigh for you to separate what you imagine to be possible (Neptune) from what you can truly invest in (Saturn). Dream the dream with determination, eyes as open as your mind.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a birth chart reading, contact her via her website.
