This newly discovered site in Peru was one of my most challenging adventures so far! I hope this video and the information I provide here, in more future content and on my social platforms helps others who wish to see it themselves have an easier time of it! Thank you to the following people for helping make this happen! Please support them where you can! Thank you Mr. Marley for bringing this site to my attention and sharing your findings with me so I could get here! @marleydidit4130 X/Insta - Jay Marley on FB - @MARLEYDIDIT on YouTube Marcia thank you for organizing all the logistics! Without you I could have never actually gotten to the site! @marci_11_04 Insta Dilmer thank you so much for the hard work being the first to document this site, recognizing its importance and allowing me to be a part of experiencing it and wanting others to do so as well! @Descubriendo_lugares on YouTube Huge thank you Seth for knocking out such a stellar edit so quickly and making the video a stand out for the channel!
Planetary alignments are beautiful celestial events that you can observe without special equipment. The next planetary alignment is on January 21, 2025. To make sure you find every planet easily, use the freeSky Tonightapp. And don't worry if you're new to astronomy! The app is user-friendly, perfect for beginners and experts alike. Now, dive into this article for easy tips on watching planets, the dates and times of the next planetary alignments, and a breakdown of how these alignments work.
Planetary alignmentis an astronomical term used to describe the event when several planets gather closely on one side of the Sun at the same time.
Planetary paradeis a colloquial term that means, in the broadest sense, that several planets are present in the sky in one night.
Now let's find out when the planets will align next. To learn more about how planetary alignments work, go straight to the “What is a planetary alignment” chapter.
6 planets in the planetary alignment on January 21, 2025
The next planetary alignment will take place onJanuary 21, 2025. In the evening, just after sunset, six planets —Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn— will align in the sky. Four of these planets (Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) will be easily visible to the naked eye. You'll need a telescope or high-powered binoculars to see Neptune and Uranus. Now, let's take a closer look at the conditions for observing the planets.
ReddishMars(mag -1.3) will shine on the eastern horizon, in the constellation Gemini.
BrightJupiter(mag -2.6) will be positioned a little higher, in the constellation Taurus. If the sky is dark enough, you will be able to enjoy the beautifulPleiades, Hyades and yellowAldebaranthat surround the planet and complete the picture. You can easily identify all these objects with the help of theSky Tonightapp.
Get high-powered binoculars to seeUranus(mag 5.7). It will be in the constellation Aries, near the border with Taurus.
The next three planets will be located closer to the western horizon.Neptune(mag 7.9) will be in the constellation Pisces, but you’ll need at least a pair of powerful binoculars to spot it. YellowishSaturn(mag 0.6) and the "evening star"Venus(mag -4.7) will be easily visible. They will shine close together in the constellation Aquarius.
To make sure you located the planets correctly, downloadSky Tonight, a free stargazing app that makes it easy to identify any celestial object in the sky. To find out the name of an object above you, just launch the app and point your device at the sky – you will see the names of the planets and be able to learn more about each one.
Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn in a planetary alignment on January 21, 2025, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
The planetary alignment will be visiblealmost everywherein the evening hours. However,January 21, 2025is only a general date when it will be well-seen for most locations around the world. The ideal date to view the alignment may vary depending on your location. Here is a list of different locations around the world and the dates when the planets are seen in the smallest sector of the sky during this alignment:
Abu Dhabi:January 18, 169-degree sky sector;
Hong Kong:January 18, 172-degree sky sector;
Tokyo:January 21, 157-degree sky sector;
New York:January 22, 152-degree sky sector.
Athens:January 23, 155-degree sky sector.
Note that tall buildings or high mountains near you might hide the planets from view. To see how the planets will look from where you live on a given date, launch theSky Tonightapp, select the desired date and time in the Time Machine at the top of the screen, and look at the sky map – you will see the position of the celestial objects for your location. Switch to the AR mode to see how the planets fit in with your surroundings.
In addition, the alignment is not limited to a single day but may extend for several days before and after that date. So if you missed January 21, don’t worry and try to spot planets on the other day around the date!
Now we’ll give you a few tips on how to observe the upcoming alignment.
How to see the next planetary alignment?
First,choose the right time. To observe this alignment, you should find out the sunrise time for your location and start your observations at least an hour before it. You can find out the sunrise time for your location withSky Tonight. To do this, launch the Sky Tonight app and open the calendar. From there, go to the Sky tab, and you will see the schemes and twilight times for each day. Choose the desired date and check the sunrise time for your location (the time near the Sun icon and the up arrow).
The Sky tab inSky Tonightshows rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon and twilight times. You can choose the type of visualization you prefer: the circular schemes or the lines.
Then,make sure you’re looking at the planets and not the stars. It’s not as obvious as it seems! It may be easy to distinguish Venus because it will be the brightest celestial object after the Moon in the sky. The other planets, however, are a little fainter. One of the differences is that the planets, unlike the stars,don’t twinkle. And if you observe the night sky throughout the year, you’ll notice that the planets “visit” different constellations while the stars stay in “fixed” positions relative to each other. To understand the differences between stars and planets once and for all, check out ourcolorful infographic.
How much does a star differ from a planet? What's an easy way to tell them apart in the sky? Read this infographic to learn the answers.
The easiest way to check if you see a planet or a star is by using the freeSky Tonightapp:
Step 1: Open Sky Tonight and point your device at the sky or tap the big blue button. The app will display a live representation of the sky above you and track your movements.
Step 2: Direct your device toward the part of the sky where the object you wish to identify is located. You can lower the magnitude so that only naked-eye objects are left on the screen. To do this, tap the bottom panel and drag the top slider toward the eye icon.
Step 3: Tap on the object to see its name on the screen, then you can tap the name to learn more about it.
The alignment of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn on January 21, 2025. The image is based on data from theSky Tonightapp.
To see the alignment in all its beauty,find a place with a dark sky withoutlight pollutionand with a clear view of the horizon(without obstacles such as trees or tall buildings).
The short guide above will help you spot the aligned planets. To plan your observations, check out the next planetary alignments listed below in this article. But first, let’s dive into the theory if you’re wondering what it actually means when planets align.
What is a planetary alignment?
Here are two common definitions of a planetary alignment:
An astronomical eventwhen planets gather closely on one side of the Sun at the same time, as seen from above the Solar System.
Some people think the Solar System planets can form a straight line as viewed from the Sun. However, the planets cannot achieve full alignment in three dimensions. Even a looser grouping in one quadrant (a 90-degree sector) is extremely rare: all planets gather in one quadrant only 7 times in the current millennium.
A visual phenomenonwhen the planets appear close together in a small sky sector, as seen from the Earth.
When the Earth is one of the planets gatheredon one side of the Sun, it appears to the observer that several planets arealigned in the sky. The smaller the sector in which the planets are seen, the more spectacular the alignment.
Don’t forget that alignments from the first definition aren’t always as striking as seen from the Earth. Even when all the planets gather within one quadrant in space, they may be scattered across the sky’s dome. Moreover, when theinner planetsare close to the Earth-Sun line, we won't see them in the night sky.
Do the planets form a line in the sky during the planetary alignment?
The planets do form a line, but it's not perfectly straight. All the planets orbit the Sun in almost the same plane. As a result, when viewing from Earth, the other planets appear to move alongthe ecliptic, the Sun’s yearly path across the sky. You can check it yourself with the stargazing appSky Tonight:
Launch the app and find the yellow dotted line that contains the Sun and goes through the entire celestial sphere – this is the ecliptic.
Move along this line, and you’ll eventually find all the planets on the sides of it. Or you can type the name of the desired planet in the search field and tap the target button near its name. The app will show the planet’s current location, and it will be near the ecliptic at any date and at any time.
As you move along the ecliptic in the app, you may notice that it is an arc from horizon to horizon. However, in a small part of the sky, the ecliptic looks like a straight line. You can see this by looking at the segment of the ecliptic that fits on your screen. That's why when the planets come closer together in one sky sector during an alignment, it looks like they’re forming an almost straight line in the sky.
Is a planet alignment and a planet parade the same thing?
“Planetary parade” is not an official astronomical term, so it is used more loosely than the term “planetary alignment.” Planetary alignments are colloquially called planetary parades. Additionally, when multiple planets are visible together in one night, it can also be called a planetary parade. In astrology, a planetary parade occurs whenseveral planets are located in the samezodiac constellation.
Types of planetary alignments
The following types of planetary alignments are distinguished according to the number of participating planets:
Mini planetary alignment – 3 planets.
Small planetary alignment – 4 planets.
Large planetary alignment – 5 or 6 planets.
Great (full) planetary alignment – all Solar System planets (+ Pluto sometimes).
When two planets are close in the sky, what is it called?
When two planets meet in the sky, it's not a planetary alignment yet. It may be the closest approach or conjunction. In our dedicated article, you’ll find details aboutthe upcoming planetary conjunctions.
The upcoming planetary alignments
Plan your planetary observations for the next few years and beyond! And don’t miss the next planetary alignment – described in detail at the beginning of the article and regularly updated.
Not all parts of the world have the same view of planetary alignments. Due to the position of theeclipticon the celestial sphere, certain planets may not be visible from where you live. Therefore, please keep in mind that the following list of planetary alignments is a general overview. The listed dates indicate when the planets can be clearly seen from most locations worldwide. If you miss this precise date, don't worry - the alignment is typically visible for a few days before and after the given date.
The next planetary alignments taking place in 2025:
January 21: a large evening alignment of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn.
February 28: a great evening alignment of Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars.
April 15: a small morning alignment of Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, and Venus.
August 11: a large morning alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn.
To verify if a specific planetary alignment is entirely observable from your location, download theSky Tonightapp. Select the desired date using the app’s time machine at the top of the screen, and explore the view of the sky for your precise location.
When will 5 to 7 planets align in the sky?
Here is the list of the next planetary alignments that feature 5 to 7 planets:
January 21, 2025: a large evening alignment of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Venus.
February 28, 2025: a great evening alignment of Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars. This is the next time7 planetswill be visible in the sky at once!
August 11, 2025: a large morning alignment of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn.
The most anticipated planetary alignments
Here are some planetary alignments discussed in the media. They are noteworthy because they feature many planets that are grouped closely together. However, most of them won’t happen anytime soon, so don't hold your breath.
On September 8, 2040, five naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) willalign in the sky. The crescent Moon will also be visible, positioned between Venus and Saturn. The best time for observations will be around 19:30 local time.
On March 15, 2080, six planets – Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Uranus – will be visible in the morning sky. This alignment is especially remarkable because it will feature the“great conjunction”of Saturn and Jupiter, which will be only six arcminutes apart.
On May 19, 2161, all Solar System planets, including the Earth, will gather on one side of the Sun. The planetary alignment will be seen just before dawn.
On November 7, 2176, all Solar System planets, including the Earth, will gather on one side of the Sun. The planetary alignment will be seen in the Earth’s sky just after sunset.
On May 6, 2492, all Solar System planets, including the Earth, will gather on one side of the Sun. In the Earth’s sky, the planetary alignment will be seen just after sunset.
FAQ
When is the next planet parade?
The next planet parade is on January 21, 2025, when six planets – Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn – will align in the sky. Learn about planetary alignments and how to observe them withour colorful infographic.
Discover how to observe planetary alignments with this colorful infographic and mark your calendar for the next “planet parade”.
The last time all planets aligned was on April 8, 2024. The planetary alignment was visible during thetotal solar eclipsein the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
What is it called when all the planets align?
When all Solar System planets align, it’s called a “great” or “full” planetary alignment. However, the planets can’t be in a straight line in space, so during the alignment, they just gather closely on one side of the Sun.
How to see the next alignment of planets?
Planetary alignments are quite easy to observe, with just a few essential tips to keep in mind:
The alignments featuring Mercury can be viewed just after sunset or before dawn, depending on the date.
Use a pair of binoculars when trying to spot Uranus and Neptune.
For the inner planets, the best viewing conditions occur near their greatest elongations, and for the outer planets – around theiroppositions.
Use the appSky Tonightto find all the planets in the sky above you and learn their visibility conditions.
When will all the planets align?
The planets of our Solar System never form aperfectlystraight line in space, because their orbits aren't on the same plane. But sometimes, the planets gather closely on one side of the Sun and appear together in the sky. At the next full alignmenton February 28, 2025, the seven planets – Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars – will be observable in the sky simultaneously.
What happens when the planets align?
Some media sources falsely claim that planetary alignments cause tsunamis, earthquakes, and other global disasters. This nonsense has beenrepeatedly debunked. In reality, alignments do not affect gravity or human life, but they are cool stargazing events.
Planetary Alignment 2024: Conclusion
Planetary alignment is a term used in astronomy to describe the event when several planets gather in a small sky area. This event may also be colloquially called a “planetary parade.” The next alignment of six planets is on January 21, 2025. The planets will be visible just before sunrise. Download a free stargazing appSky Tonightto help you spot them all!
Planetary Parade: Seven Planets will align in the sky this January 2025
Rare Astronomical events in 2025!
Possibly NASA has in mind to send another Voyager satellite before January 21, 2025. The alignment of the planets allows the satellite to be slingshot from one planet to the next due to their gravitational pull. The satellite will eventually be traveling beyond our solar system.
Embedded within a clear piece of amber, a small praying mantis sits at attention, frozen forever in time. The piece, which measures just slightly over one inch tall, was sold viaHeritage Auctions for $6,000 in 2016. The pristine piece of amber, which comes from the Dominican Republic, gives a rare view of this incredible mantis.
The amber itself derives from the extinct Hymenaea protera, a prehistoric leguminous tree. Most amber found in Central and South America comes from its resin. Amber from the Dominican Republic is known as Dominican resin, which is noted for its clarity and a high number of inclusions.
Heritage Auctions dates the piece in question to the Oligocene period, placing it anywhere from about 23 million to 33.9 million years old. It's an important period of time where the archaicEocenetransitions into more modern ecosystems of theMioceneperiod, which lasted until 5 million years ago. Incredibly, the mantis itself doesn't appear so different from what we see today.
There are over 2,400 species of mantises today, mainly living in tropical climates. But the earliest mantis fossils, which date back 135 million years, come from a place that is, today, much colder—Siberia. Some early fossils even show mantises with spines on their front legs, just like modern mantises. Whoever bought this piece of amber took home an interesting piece of evolutionary history, one that can be gazed at each day.
Take a look at this 30 million-year-old praying mantis, encased in amber and forever frozen in time.
It is important to say that amber is much studied but still not fully understood. The problems begin with the names by which the material is known: amber, Baltic amber, fossil resin, succinite, and resinite.
What is another name for amber?
Amber is known by many names in many different cultures: Sacred Stone, Gold of the North, Baltic Gold, Electron.Stone of the Sun Baltic Amber is also a mineral of many colors.
Are amber fossils expensive?
(At that rate, a penny-size chunk of amber would cost about $2,000.) Though raw amber has a set wholesale price, the price of amber with insect inclusions is more subjective. Dealers who specialize in selling to collectors and scientists first inspect the insect and determine how unusual it is.
Is amber worth any money?
The two main sources of amber on the market today are the Baltic states and the Dominican Republic. Amber from the former is older, and thus preferred on the market, but that obtained from the latter is more likely to have insect inclusions. Amber prices can range from $20 to $40,000 or more.
Is amber more valuable than diamond?
Other precious stones, such as diamonds and emeralds, are also more valuable than amber. However, it is important to remember that value is relative. For example, while a single diamond may be worth more than an entire chunk of amber, the latter is actually the more valuable commodity by weight.
Why is amber so special?
Its ability to produce static electricity has fascinated observers from the earliest times. Amber's magnetic property gave rise to the word electricity: amber (Greek, elektron) was used in the earliest experiments on electricity. Amber's natural properties inspired myth and legend and dictated its usage.
Where is amber most commonly found?
The richest deposits are on and around the Samland peninsula, a large, fan-shaped area that corresponds to the delta region of a river that once drained an ancient landmass that geologists call Fennoscandia. This ancient continent now lies beneath the Baltic Sea and the surrounding land.
Is amber a gem or mineral?
Amber is an organic gemstone made from tree resin, then preserved for millions of years and turned to stone. Most of the world's amber is mined in the regions on the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas. When mined in those regions, amber is sometimes called Baltic Gold.
MAPS
AMBER AND OTHET FOSIL RESIN, MAIN CLUSTERS
There are about 150 fossil (Latin fossilis – excavated) sorts of resin. From non-organic minerals fossil sap differ because they‘re made up of only three chemical elements: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. During XVII – XVIII centuries when mining was on the rise, in brown carbon clusters first of all, later in other sediments various fossil sap sorts were found that varied greatly by their chemical characteristics. Most of the fossil sap was found in the Northern hemisphere, Europe and America during XX–XXI centuries. Also more and more of them are now found in Asia, Africa and South America.
Fossil resin called amber has been found on the seashores of the Baltic and Northern Seas since long time ago. The main characteristics of this resin were restricted to color, clarity, combustibility and ability to get electrified when rubbed. For a long time resin that had similar characteristics was considered amber. Some mineralogists as little as 25-30 years ago attributed simetrite and rumenite found in the Carpathian region to the six sorts of Baltic amber – sukcinite, gedonite, stantentite, glesite, bekerite and crancite.
In Delter‘s mineralogy textbook (1931) similar to amber resins are attributed to fossil sap such as ambrite, copalite, shraufite, birmite, Istric trinkerite, Canadian cederite, Columbian, Galician, Greenland‘s, Kamchatka, San Domingo, Spanish, Syrian, Lebanese, Yucatan peninsula‘s amber, as well as amber from Bohemian Shuco region and Kep Sebl (USA).
Mineralogists though of amber as mineral, pointing out its special feature – the ability to burn. Later on when attributing it to minerals used the genetic approach – its vegetal roots even though many mineralogists still keep to the opinion that mineral has to be of non-organic origin.
Nowadays scientists agree that the main chemical characteristic of amber is its acid НООС-СН2-СН2-СООН that distinguishes it from other fossil sap.
Konvenc established and K. Shubert finally proved in 1961 that amber composed from a certain type of pine. This pine tree sort is now called Pinus succinifera Conwentz. That‘s why amber is the resin from Pinus succinifera Conwentz and is called sukcinite. Rezenic type of compounds predominate in its composition and there‘s from 3 to 8 % of amber acid, on average around 7.1 % (according to O. Helm).
The current District of Kaliningrad (now Russia, but formerly Eastern Prussian Samba peninsula) contains the biggest amber clusters in the world. In the deep layers of this peninsula which was near the former historic Fenoscandic continent – in the so called “blue land” – more than 90% of the whole world amount of amber is found and mined. The thickest blue land layers are in Palvininkai (called by the Russian colonizers Jantanyj) region amber mines.
Amber is found not only around the Baltic Sea (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the District of Kaliningrad), but also in Belarus, Ukraine (Kharkov and Kyiv districts) as well as in Poland, Germany, Denmark and Southern Sweden.
In 1896 O. Helm wrote about the so-called rotten amber. It‘s a transitional sort between sukcinite and gedanite.
Fossil sap sort called simetite is found in Sicily and it has various colors and shades: dark red ruby, reddish yellow pomegranate, blue, green and brown. It‘s a little bit softer than sukcinite.
Rumenite found in Romania, Carpathian region, Bukovina, Galicia, Valakia is very close to the Baltic amber by its chemical composition, but differs in color. Sometimes yellow rumenite is found, but usually it‘s brownish yellow, brown, grey or clouded. Sometimes very dark rumenite is found so it‘s sometimes called the „black amber“.
In Burma and India territories dark brown fossil resin called birmite is found. Dark red and lightly yellow sap similar to sucinite is also found. Birmite is harder than the Baltic amber so it‘s more suited for polishing. It‘s usually not clear.
In the Baltic Region apart from the real amber (sukcinite) a few other sorts of it are also found. Around Gdansk reddish yellow clear gedanite is mined (Gedanum is the Latin name for the city Gdansk) and it‘s a little softer than sukcinite. In other parts of the Baltic Region a very rare sort of amber is also found – glesite. It‘s a bright rosy amber without any impurities.
Fossil resin types and their clusters are listed in the table below
Name
Cluster
Baltic sukcinite
Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Latvia
Glesite
Lithuania, Germany
Shtantinite
Lithuania, Priekulė region
Bekerite
Juodkrantė region
Crancite
Prussia, Semba (Prustas horn)
Gedanite
Poland (Gdansk)
Noidorfite
Southern Poland
Valchovite
Slovakia (Moravia)
Aikait
Hungary (Aikos basin)
Kiscelite
Hungary (Budapest)
Telegolite
Hungary (Budapest)
Deliatinite
Moldavija (Bukovina)
Ruminate
Romania (Carpathian district)
Piatra
Romania (Ploesh region)
Almashite
Romania (Almash river valley)
Shraufite
Romania (Deliatian region)
Simetite
Sicily (Simet region)
Duksite
Austria (Bohemia region)
Keflachite
Austria (Shtiria)
Iksolite
Austria (Oberhart)
Jaulingite
Austria
Zigburite
Bona
Euosmite
Bavaria (Bajershof region)
Copal
Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Jordania)
Siberian retinite
Arctic (Jugor and Taimyr peninsulas)
Birmite
China (Burma)
Siderite
North America (Alaska)
Mexican amber
Mexico, Dominican Republic, Haiti
Ambrozine
America (South Carolina)
Chilean sukcinite
Chile
Very fragile black colored opaque shiny amber is called stantenite. It‘s composed from fossil sap of still unknown tree to scientists.
Stronger and less fragile from the latter mentioned is bekerite – opaque grayish brownish amber. In 1961 paleobotanical research done by K. Shubert showed that it‘s sukcinite that‘s highly impure with tree bark.
If we look at other continents we can see fossil resin clusters in Mandzuria, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, as well as Africa (Sierra Leone, Congo Republic, Zanzibar island), in the states of Unites States of America (New Jersey, Virginia), Canada (British Columbia), North Greenland, Mexico, Brasilia and Guiana.
Though the biggest fossil resin clusters – the real amber – is located in the Baltic Region. Here the amber industry is also the most developed one.
Since the old times the Baltic amber lured merchants of the distant ancient countries such as Finikia, Greece and Rome. And the merchant‘s tales about the long and adventurous journeys to the North were the base for the antique writers to start talking about amber. Of course, the first accounts aren‘t very accurate, they‘re full of carious fictional elements. Though, they‘re historically based. Exactly this truth about amber clusters, its mining and trade routes the scientists are trying to find out from the existent antique sources. Archeologists and philologists work hand in hand with historians to find this scientific truth.
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