It’s fair to say that this year has got off to an, uh, interesting start. While it may be tempting to navel gaze and worry about what lies ahead, may I suggest taking a moment to look at the skies above?
It will not fix any of your problems but it may help your mind during tough times. In fact, one study published in February 2024 found that people with a greater connection to the night sky had better mental health and felt happier.
BBC Sky at Night Magazine also says: “Environments that are less visually arousing – meaning they are less complex or have little movement – offer better stress reduction than environments that are more stimulating.”
Couldn’t we all do with a little stress reduction?
Especially since all seven of the other planets in our solar system are about to become visible at once in a great planetary alignment.
How to see all of the planets at once this year
According to New Scientist: “The great alignment, including Mercury, will only happen for a few evenings around 28 February, depending on your location. All seven planets will be visible briefly right after sunset, stretching in an arc across the sky.
“By the time the sky is completely dark, Mercury and Saturn will have sunk below the horizon, with Neptune and Venus following shortly after. The best time to spot the planets will be in the hour after sunset, when all of them except Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will be close to the horizon.”
If this sounds almost too good to be true, that’s understandable.
New Scientist went on to explain: “It is a remarkable orbital coincidence – sometimes there are multiple great alignments in a year, and sometimes several years pass without a single one.”
We can’t fix everything at once but we can take a moment to remember that we’re part of something much bigger.