On January 25th 2025, a wonderful astrological event occurred – a once in a 45-year phenomenon that brought about fantastic views, and a spectacular sight to behold! Stargazers were able to gaze upon the planets in the night sky as they all aligned, which is a beautiful but rare occurrence.
How did this event look?
Well, without a telescope or other related equipment, there was an almost perfect and bright view of the planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. However, the red planet (Mars) was the brightest of all the planets. If you happened to have a telescope, you were likely to get a clear view of Uranus and Neptune! As well as breathtaking views of the crescent moon.
Planetary Alignment:
Some of you may be wondering, what exactly is a Planetary alignment? Each planet in the solar system orbits around the sun, at different speeds and distances, depending on how far away they are from the sun. These planets are all on something called the ecliptic plane, meaning they are all visible to each other. Although very rare, the orbits of these planets do line up with each other, leading to the astronomical event known as the “Planetary alignment”, or the more scientific term, “Planetary Parade”. Sometimes, Planetary Parades do cause disturbances in the patterns of tidal waves, likely due to their gravitational pull, but this is very rare and not fully understood.
Historical Beliefs:
Before science understood exactly what Planetary Parades, or even planets and stars were, people often saw them as mystical signs and used them as explanations for their stunning and epic mythologies, for example, Egyptian mythology. In particular, Planetary Parades often held a more spiritual meaning as people saw them as prophecies or bad omens to come. Whatever the case, for as long as history goes back, humans have always been obsessed with the stars!
Future Planetary Parades
Although by the time you read this article, this stunning event will be over — don’t despair! There is still a vibrant array of astrological events for you to look forward to in the future.
Luckily, the Lyrid meteor shower may be taking place on either April 22nd or April 23rd; this meteor shower is an annual shower where cosmic debris will enter the earth’s atmosphere via Vega Star from the Lyra the Harp constellation (hence the name Lyrid meteor shower). Experts theorise that you possibly may be able to see 10-15 meteors per hour, however the Lyrid meteor shower is notoriously known for their uncommon surges that can bring 100 meteors per hour! Who knows what fascinating and exciting events will happen in the future, so keep your eyes peeled…
By Isabelle Culf
