“Planetary parade”: the unprecedented alignment of six planets visible to the naked eye in August 2025

August 10 and 11 mark a media peak around what astronomers call a “Planetary parade”. In reality, this apparent alignment stretches over several days, and its true beauty is revealed at daybreak, with the naked eye for the brightest, with equipment adapted for others. This meeting, although an optical illusion linked to our terrestrial point of view, remains an uncommon event, to be enjoyed before its next reissue … in 2026.

In the sky of this August, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are grouped along the ecliptic. Contrary to what the term “alignment” suggests, it is not a perfectly straight line: each planet continues its own orbit, and it is our earthly perspective that creates illusion.

The most spectacular – in this case Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and, intermittently, Mercury – let themselves be admired with the naked eye, as long as the horizon is cleared and that you get up early … The daylight rising quickly in summer, the observation window is reduced to about thirty minutes before sunrise. Uranus and Neptune, on the other hand, hide the eyes without optical help: powerful twins or telescope are essential.

The best niche? If the alignment remains visible around August 10 and 11, it will gain sharpness towards the end of the month, when the moon will disappear almost completely. This absence of parasitic light will allow the most distant planets to detach themselves more clearly on the black background of the sky.

The event is rare: a similar configuration will not happen again until February 2026. It therefore deserves to move away from urban areas, to find a clear horizon and, why not, to extend the previous evening until dawn. A reminder that, even in the era of screens, lifting your eyes remains one of the simplest and most spectacular experiences that nature can offer.