Planetary Parade: A Lifetime Event
Today on January 25, we will be witnessing a rare planetary alignment featuring Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Mercury typically after 6:30 p.m in the evening. This celestial event will be visible as an arc in the night sky. According to the fine details from NASA, one will be able to see Venus and Saturn in the southwest, Jupiter high overhead, and Mars in the east. If one has a telescope and an app, say Heavens above or Pocket Universe etc., in the mobile phone to help finding them, then one can also see the distant planets like Uranus and Neptune. Such a full planetary alignment typically happens once in every 20 years or so, although partial alignments keep happening more frequently. For example, the most recent alignment of the planets, where several planets appeared to align in a loose configuration, occurred in 2022, before which it had happened in the year 2000.
However, planetary alignments are not always perfectly “aligned” in the sky, in the ruler-straight kind of a line. This is because the orbits of different planets in the solar system are not perfectly in the same plane, and the alignment might be spread out across the sky. Nonetheless, the planets in our solar system are assumed to orbit the sun in more or less the same flat plane as the Earth, according to EarthSky.org. This is called the ecliptic. The celestial bodies near us, the sun and the moon and the planets, all seem to arc across the sky every day and night from east to west on that same imaginary track.
Planetary alignments, are broadly classified into two types: Loose alignments and Perfect alignments. In case of Loose alignments, the planets seem roughly aligned (but not perfectly) within a certain area of the sky. These can occur more frequently, roughly every few years. One such event was observed in 2024 on April 8, though it was a solar eclipse day.
On the other hand, a perfect alignment is a true alignment where planets fall in a straight line or near-perfect arrangement from Earth’s perspective. These are extremely rare and happen on timescales of several centuries or more. The next time we can consider the eight planets aligned in the same 180-degree-wide patch of sky, will be on May 6, 2492, according to Christopher Baird, an associate professor of physics at West Texas A&M University. The last time the eight planets had lined up within 30 degrees was on Jan. 1, 1665, and the next time will be March 20, 2673, according to the National Solar Observatory’s facility at Sacramento Peak, California.
The planetary alignments are generally seen as events of energetic gravitational pull that resonates across the Earth, often interpreted as harbinger of new beginnings. Imagine the universe pressing a giant “refresh” button, inviting individuals to embrace change and transformation. This cosmic event serves as a reminder to realign our ambitions and aspirations especially when the disturbances in life might have greatly distracted us. The planetary parade is indeed going to be breathtaking and magical, but not probably the portent of something as astrologers project it to be. It is rather a moment to marvel at the harmony of the Universe and is just a routine event for the astronomers. Therefore, it will be going too far and astray to ascertain that planetary alignment will energize personal growth and productivity. While as, Stargazers can enjoy the spectacle, the non-astronomers can choose to align their goals with the energies of the Universe with or without referencing to this event. This particular event has also been doing rounds on social media platforms with great hype and recipe but with little sense and science. The planetary parade or partition or their alignment and dis-alignment has absolutely no bearing on our lives. It also means very little for the life processes and physical phenomena happening on earth. To believe that planets and their configurations could be the possible drivers or destroyers of our fortune is heavily turned down by Iqbal in the following beautiful lines, reflecting that the planets are themselves helpless and bound, by the very conditions of their creation.
Two planets meeting face to face,one to the other cried,
How sweet if endlessly we might embrace, and here for ever stay!
How sweet if heaven a little might relent, and leave our light in one light blent!’
But through that longing to dissolve In one, the parting summons sounded.
Immutably the stars revolve, by changeless orbits each is bounded;
At other place he says
Aasman majboor hai, shamas-o-qamar majboor hain
Anjum-e-seemab pa raftar par majboor hai
“The sky is compelled, the sun and the moon are compelled
The fleet-footed stars are compelled in their course.”
So, how could they be of any help to anyone or anything else.
All what Universe is unfolding to us is harmony, collective order, being on track and disciplined, abiding by the laws in the cosmic habitations, realigning and resetting to maintain the eternal beauty and bounty.
This year the January sky is especially going to be pretty cool and beautiful. Keep your eyes wide and open whenever the skies are clear. In this era of downloading and uploading, consider downloading some stargazing apps and upload the pictures wherever you choose.
Dr. Qudsia Gani, Head Dept. of Physics, Govt. Degree College, Pattan, Baramulla J&K.