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Five planets will be aligned next week. Here's how you can see it

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Okay all you backyard star gazers, circle the date, Tuesday, March 28, as the day you look to the heavens as the planets will align.

Well, five of the planets will anyway.

Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars will gather within a 50-degree sky sector, that's astronomer talk for the planets will be grouped closer together than normal.

The rare celestial event can best be seen by looking to the west with binoculars or a telescope right after sunset.

More:Looking Up: What if all the planets lined up?

What is a planet alignment?

Planet alignment is an astronomical term used to describe the event when several planets gather closely on one side of the sun at the same time.

Are there different types of planet alignments?

Yes. A mini planetary alignment, three planets; a small planetary alignment, 4 planets; large planetary alignment is five to six planets; and a grand or full planetary alignment is when all solar system planets align.

Are the planets really aligned in a straight line?

Because of different orbits and tilts, the planets will never be perfectly aligned.

How rare are planetary alignments?

Seeing two or three major planets close to each other can be a common sight. But the American Astronomical Society said seeing all five together is rare. The last time a five-planet formation happened was in December 2004.

When was the last time all nine planets aligned?

In 1982, all nine of the planets were on the same side of the Sun, scattered over some 90 degrees. According to Star Walk, the next full alignment will occur on May 19, 2161, when eight planets will be located within 69 degrees from each other.

If I forget to look up on March 28, when will the next five-planet alignment occur?

The next alignment will not occur until Sept. 8, 2040 when Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars can be seen together, according to Star Walk.

Do planetary alignments trigger tsunamis or other catastrophic events?

According to NASA Science, "If all the planets were to align perfectly with each one as close as possible to the Earth, their gravity would raise the ocean tides by just one twenty-fifth of one millimeter. Typical ocean tides on Earth caused by the Moon and Sun are thousands of times larger than that."

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

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