Parade of six planets visible from Germany this week

A magnificent line-up of six planets will be visible to the naked eye this week. If you’re in Germany, where in the sky should you look, and when?

“Planetary parade” expected over Germany

The late winter night sky will be extra magical this week. There are currently five planets visible in the evening sky: Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune and Mercury. But on the evening of March 1, Venus will join to create a six-part symphony.

The planets are simultaneously visible because they are all currently on the same side of the sun. Mars, however, is currently very close to the sun, so it is not visible in the night sky.

How to see the planetary parade

If you’d like a liberating reminder of your cosmic insignificance, you need to be quick. The planetary parade is only visible directly after sunset, which currently occurs earliest in Berlin at 5.37pm and latest in Aachen at 6.09pm.

If the weather is clear, you should be able to see the moon in the west, with Jupiter slightly to its right. Uranus will be parallel and in the centre of your view, while Saturn, Neptune, Mercury and Venus will appear in the southeast of the sky.

According to Hessenschau, clear weather on Wednesday and Thursday evening means visibility should be good. Getting a good look on Friday, Saturday and Sunday might be more difficult, since intermittent cloudy weather is forecast.