Prepare for the PLANET PARADE

Five planets and an asteroid will be putting on a show this month. Stuart Atkinson shows us where and when to catch the spectacle

- Stuart Atkinson

While it's been disappointingly quiet for comet observers, aurora hunters and meteor watchers, there's no doubt that 2022 has been a great year for planet spotters. Back in early summer there was a striking and much-hyped 'chain of worlds' spread out across the sky, with half a dozen planets strung out along the ecliptic like beads on a bracelet. Unfortunately, that celestial treat was only visible before dawn, so many people missed it or didn't even know it was happening at all.

But good news: another planetary parade will be on view this month! And even better news: this time it will be in the evening sky, so you won't need to set the alarm really early to see it. Throughout September no less than five planets - Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Neptune - will all be on view at once, if you look at the right time.

As exciting and rare as it was, summer's planetary line-up wasn't easy to see for many Northern Hemisphere sky-watchers - some of the planets were overwhelmed by the bright summer sky. But this month's gathering will be taking place after dark, so all the planets involved will be either very easy to see with the naked eye or easy to find in binoculars and small telescopes. And as an added bonus, one of the Solar System's most famous minor planets, Vesta, will be in the same region of the sky too.

But when will be the right time'? Although some of these worlds will be on view soon after sunset, you won't be able to see all of them strewn across the sky together until around 10:30pm, so if you want to show them to any space-mad youngsters, they may need to take a nap first and then go out later. We'll look at the view on one particular night mid-month, 18 September, but don't worry if it's cloudy on that night because these planets will be on view throughout September.