THE ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME SHOW OF THE PLANETS
On the evening of 28 march 2023, everybody was seen staring at the sky. Some wondered why, others chuckled with acknowledgment and some joined the scene. So, what was it they were looking at that keenly, with so much enthusiasm?
If you don’t know the answer yet then I’m sure you missed one of the best astronomical events.
Right after the sunset on 28 March 2023, 5 new star-like shiny objects appeared in the evening sky. They were not stars; they were not airplanes nor were they UFOs – they were planets.
Yes! The solar system’s half of the family came to say hi to the planet and the human race. This rare phenomenon appeared in the sky from around 6:36 PM to 7:13 PM IST.
The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus along with the moon were seen forming an arc in the sky reminding us to smile. The planets hung out there in the sky for a very less time.
But Uranus was too dull to be seen with the naked eye and would’ve been visible if the sky was dark enough.
This is the first time this celestial event happened in more than a decade. People called the event a “rarest of the rare astronomical event” and termed the planets “fab five”.
These planets were so visible that, those with good eyesight were able to see the planets without any aid.
As said by Bill Cooke the solar family members made their appearance towards the western horizon.
Venus was the first and easiest to be seen as Venus is the brightest among all of them. The other planets accompanying Venus were can be easily recognized by people who have a habit of star gazing as these appear to be new family members.
Although the planets stayed all up until the middle of the night, Venus and Jupiter dove into the horizon just minutes after the sunset. And the rest of the planets slowly moved away diluting the arc they created.
This alignment of the planets is called ‘planetary alignment and this happens when the planets of the solar system fall on the same side of the sun which is a very rare occurrence hence this became the year’s best astronomical event so far.
Stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts were beyond just excited about the event and this morning internet was flooded with pictures and videos of the planets. The mesmerizing view was also shared by celebrities and others with each post having 1000s comments about how beautiful the event was.
The Internet is now filled with some people expressing their experience on the previous night’s planet show and others whining about being late to the event and not getting to witness the rarest event.
In recent times the world witnessed the conjugation of Saturn, Venus, and the moon and now other planets came to bless us with a guest appearance.
In a year many astronomical events happen some are rare and some like this conjugation are common like eclipses but every event is obviously worth watching.
Look at the sky and you’ll understand how small we are when compared to the universe, admire how that vast universe out there once contributed to our existence and how beautiful it is.