It’s a good time for the space enthusiasts on planet Earth as 4 of our brightest neighbors are going to appear roughly in a row for the next one month.

These planets are – Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. However, it is more about the perspective, the distance between them is still huge but it will appear to be less when seen from Earth.

Talking about this space phenomenon, Niruj Mohan Ramanujam, the head of the Science Communication, Public Outreach and Education (SCOPE),  Indian Institute of Astrophysics, said: 

the planets in order of position from east to west, that is, from the horizon upwards, are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn. This is an excellent occasion for all of us to visually track the positions of these fast-moving planets every day, and appreciate the motivation of all ancient cultures to understand and predict their paths in the sky.

Eventually, Saturn will leave on its path, but Jupiter and Mars will be very close on May 29, and Jupiter and Venus will appear in a row on May 1.

You’ll have to be up early to spot them, though, which is not a big ask to be honest. They will grace the Earth’s sky from 4 AM to dawn.

Speaking about why the planets look like they are in a row, Dr. Ramanujam said:

All the planets move around the Sun in very roughly the same plane, and therefore, their paths on the sky fall within a narrow band, around the ‘Ecliptic’. Because of this, we can see some planets apparently being close together in the sky from time to time.

I’d say there are few things more beautiful than this.