Social media buzzed about a celestial event on Feb. 28 where the night sky was said to showcase a "planetary alignment" formation, signifying the alignment of seven major planets in the sky, with suggestions that it occurs "once in 77 years," deeming it extremely rare.
The Hong Kong Space Museum took to social platforms to explain that this event, although not uncommon, is still "worth a look."
Planetary alignment occurs when planets in the solar system align in a line or within a specific area at a particular moment. The Space Museum mentioned that such astronomical events happen every few years, like this phenomenon that occurred in June 2022. In reality, planets in the solar system orbit the sun in nearly the same plane, causing their positions in the sky as observed from Earth to concentrate along a band called the "ecliptic," which is the path that the sun appears to follow in the sky each year.
Furthermore, the Space Museum explained that the term "once in XX years" rarity refers to the alignment of planets within a range of 30 degrees or less in the sky. In this instance, these planets are distributed across approximately 120 degrees in the sky, not actually forming a "straight line."
Despite not being particularly rare, the Space Museum still recommended that citizens take the opportunity to stargaze if the weather permits. They noted that after sunset, Venus can be seen in the western sky, while Jupiter appears in the vicinity of the zenith in an orange-yellow hue, and Mars shines red towards the east, describing the view as "beautiful and bright." However, observing Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, and Uranus might be more challenging; Uranus and Neptune are too distant and dim to be seen with the naked eye, while Mercury and Saturn are too close to the horizon, potentially obscured by twilight and haze, making them difficult to discern.
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