Planetary Alignment – January 2025

By Heather Durham | January 20, 2025

The night sky in January 2025 will offer an excellent opportunity to observe multiple planets, though contrary to some social media claims, they won’t form a perfect line in space. Six planets will be visible in the evening sky, with the best viewing occurring between January 21-25.

Visible Planets

Four planets will be easily visible to the naked eye:
• Venus and Saturn in the southwest
• Jupiter high overhead
• Mars in the east

Uranus and Neptune will also be present but require a telescope or high-powered binoculars for viewing.

Key Dates

January 17-18: Venus and Saturn will have a close conjunction, appearing just 2 degrees apart.

January 21: Six planets (Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn) will be visible in the evening sky after sunset.

Viewing Tips

The planets will appear along the ecliptic, which represents the plane of our solar system. This alignment isn’t unusual – planets always appear along this line because they orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane.

Looking Ahead

A rarer seven-planet alignment will occur on February 28, 2025, when Mercury joins the other six planets in the evening sky. This will be the next opportunity to see all seven planets visible from Earth simultaneously.

Best Viewing Times by Location

The optimal dates for viewing vary by location:
• New York: January 22 (152-degree sky sector)
• Tokyo: January 21 (157-degree sky sector)
• Hong Kong: January 18 (172-degree sky sector)
• Abu Dhabi: January 18 (169-degree sky sector)

Scientific Context

Despite claims on social media, planetary alignments do not cause any adverse effects on Earth. While the planets never form a perfect straight line in space due to their orbital planes, these viewing opportunities provide excellent chances to observe multiple planets simultaneously.

References:

Byrd, D. (2025). A planetary alignment on January 25, 2025? EarthSky.

NASA. (2024). What’s Up: January 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA.

Star Walk. (2025). Calendar of All Astronomical Events 2025.

Science Alert. (2025). A Rare Alignment of 7 Planets Is About to Take Place in The Sky.

Sky & Telescope. (2025). Planet Viewing Guide January 2025.