Mercury is the most fleeting of the sights on offer Saturday night, dropping below the horizon shortly after sunset.
Jupiter, Venus and Saturn will offer a longer viewing opportunity.
Arkos recommends heading out around 6 p.m. and finding Mercury and Venus close to the horizon in the west, then moving your gaze southward over to the east.
Jupiter will be “very, very bright” and near the full moon in the sky.
The alignment began earlier this month and will continue until early March, however Saturday offers the peak viewing opportunity when the planets appear more tightly grouped.
Arkos said the best viewing conditions are found by escaping the city lights.
“Let your eyes get used to a bit of darkness so let them dark adapt, because you’re going to need to be looking for some fairly faint things, because the glow of the sun will still be there. If you go out too late, the problem is that the some of the planets will actually go and set below the horizon you won’t be able to see them.”
Seeing four or five planets at any one time is somewhat common, however, six is a lot rarer.
Getting seven planets in a single view, which happened briefly in January 2025, is not slated to happen again until 2040.
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