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tackleberry2219 t1_j23n16m wrote

Why can’t I ever hear about these things BEFORE they happen?

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Riegel_Haribo t1_j23q8dc wrote

Replying to tackleberry2219 (#1,143,321)

Because this is a non-event event. Venus will be setting right after sunset for the next month, while Mars rises, the events that frame the other planets in the sky - and needing you to go out at just the right time to see both (everything but Venus already being visible for the last half of this year).

Also, Uranus and Neptune are not "visible" to the naked eye, and Mercury is a challenge.

So: Venus in twilight if no trees are in the way. Opposite side of the sky, there's Mars. Between, Jupiter and Saturn.

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otter111a t1_j23qs98 wrote

It’s not all that rare. A day like this happens every year

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olearygreen t1_j23zaqv wrote

Replying to otter111a (#1,144,035)

Wait… how? Wouldn’t that require all planets to have the same speed traveling around the sun? You need the inner planets between earth and sun, or behind the sun from our perspective which sure I can see that happening all the time unless they are hidden behind the sun itself. But the outer planets would need to be behind the sun from earth’s perspective, no? If they are on “our side” of the sun then we cannot see them together with the inner planets?

I need an ELI5 picture or video explaining to me how this is not a rare event.

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ChaoticAgenda t1_j241t65 wrote

Replying to olearygreen (#1,145,760)

A "planet parade" doesn't have to be the same planets or same configuration each time. The parade can also be as small as 3 planets. So a parade happens when at least 3 of the 8 planets line up. That's not very uncommon.

However,
This planetary parade has 5 planets in it and that does make it notable and uncommon. The last one like it was in 2002 and the next one is expected in 2040, https://starwalk.space/en/news/what-is-planet-parade

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otter111a t1_j2430qf wrote

Replying to olearygreen (#1,145,760)

I’m no expert. I just read this in an article.

Here’s a map.

https://www.theplanetstoday.com

Let’s logic this out. Right now and for quite a few years Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus will all be on the same side of the sun. Mercury would join them very frequently.

So really the problem becomes one of Venus and mars joining them on that side of the sun or at some apparent angle that it looks like they’re all grouped up from earth’s perspective.

Mars’ orbital period of 687 days would put it on that side every other year but then it would also linger there for an extended period. Venus would saunter into view and eventually Mercury would zip over.

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WinkyTheFrog t1_j246i2e wrote

what's astrology say about this one? am i gonna have a rich smart baby who becomes president of the northern hemisphere?

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olearygreen t1_j246igz wrote

Replying to otter111a (#1,146,511)

Awesome. This makes sense. I read it as it’s fairly frequent now because the outer planets are all on the other side hanging out, which is lucky but not frequent in galactic terms.

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OtisTetraxReigns t1_j247gof wrote

Replying to WinkyTheFrog (#1,147,226)

Something about challenges. Also some opportunities. You will meet a stranger. Also you will hear from an old friend. You may experience some loss. But also, some new stuff will show up. Honesty will be required, but it may be necessary to keep some secrets. Change is coming. But also not.

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Mn2511 t1_j24bulz wrote

The planets are feeling emboldened and parading around their gaseous bodies

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Mackheath1 t1_j24dyoo wrote

Replying to OtisTetraxReigns (#1,147,397)

I (disappointingly) have two close friends who buy into it. I don't shame them or anything of course, but listening to them when they get together is... is something else. "You'll be a teacher to someone this week." // "oooh I WILL, because my daughter has--" etc.

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Bioslug t1_j24i8v1 wrote

It says right in the article that this isn’t rare.

“The planet parade is not an extremely rare occurrence — it tends to happen at least every couple of years. In fact, the eight-planet alignment last happened in June.”

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because_of_ghosts t1_j24jde2 wrote

I would have loved to see this when it was new but no, we have the new Redditbook, where your stupid default sort view is always popular rather than whatever you’d rather it be.

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Songhunter t1_j24nmew wrote

As the scrolls foretold! The age of indigo is upon us!

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doglywolf t1_j24p5no wrote

Replying to tackleberry2219 (#1,143,321)

there are apps and sms notifications you can sign up for for that .

Literally one called space events that you can even tell your location and will notifity you when cool things are coming you would be able to see from your area.

​

I used to feel the exact same way like id see news article about something cool that happened YESTERDAY and have this $1200 scope sitting in my closet that i never take out and be mad about it .

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mistere213 t1_j24ry1d wrote

I did catch the lineup back in June and it was great. I got my 6 year old daughter a legit telescope for Christmas, so we took it out to the countryside at 4am on a Saturday. It was the first time either of us had seen the rings of Saturn with our own eyes and it was a magical moment to share with my little girl. She even wanted to do it the next morning (but clouds weren't allowing it).

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xxx_pussyslayer_420 t1_j24s20r wrote

Replying to Mackheath1 (#1,150,500)

So basically having your fortune told is being told of various possibilities and events that befall everyone. I guess sometimes people need to hear it to find comfort and hope. I don't see why fortune tellers these days can't just go with that angle:

"what I am about to tell you is what befalls everyone at some point in their lives. This may happen to you some day or maybe it won't but know of these things so you may always be prepared." - turns on fog machine

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2C104 t1_j24ttnp wrote

Annnnd of course, they didn't include a picture.

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meexley2 t1_j24tvn5 wrote

Why do I feel like I see 2-3 of these “once in a life time” events in the news

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ImpossibleMachine3 t1_j24w4p4 wrote

Replying to pastey83 (#1,143,371)

I know how you feel. My wife got me a brand new telescope for my birthday this year. A couple of weeks later I read about the "last lunar eclipse on the east coast of the US for years" and it was happening at a time and place I'd be able to see it! With my new telescope! I got up around 4am, checked out the sky - full moon, clear sky, absolutely beautiful. Another hour until the eclipse... So I used the bathroom, went back inside.

When it was time for the eclipse,... Completely overcast. And it stayed that way until dawn. Ugh.

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Huachinangoo t1_j24ywxe wrote

Replying to Ok-disaster2022 (#1,145,439)

Oh man. I lived right on the edge of totality during the last eclipse. There is a town about an hour away that was dead in the center. Hotels were booked solid over a year in advance. People came from all over the world. It got completely rained out.

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Salty__Business t1_j250s96 wrote

Replying to lemonade124 (#1,146,250)

Whoa, you're telling me that knowledge of a thing doesn't inexplicably alter the outcome? That can't possibly be right...

If you knew about it ahead of time, got excited about it, then couldn't see anything due to clouds, you'd be pretty disappointed. In that case, it would be less disappointing if you hadn't known about it at all.

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ackermann t1_j255mjh wrote

Replying to Myopic_Cat (#1,143,429)

Yeah, shouldn’t this last a few days, at least? Maybe even a week?

Mercury and Venus are the only ones that move particularly fast. And even they won’t move too far in a day or two.

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EdenG2 t1_j257gxd wrote

Christmas night watched sun set over Catalina Island. Jupiter appeared first. Five planets visible. It was something.

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bunnyrut t1_j25chg1 wrote

Replying to pastey83 (#1,143,371)

That had been every sky event in the past 20 years for me. I feel like I am cursed.

Amazing meteor shower? Overcast. Comet? Raining. Lunar eclipse? Sorry, it's cloudy tonight. Solar eclipse? Lol, cloudy again.

Wanna see all the planets in the sky with your naked eye? Syke!

I'll just look at all the awesome pictures everyone else is taking.

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Occulus1975 t1_j25css7 wrote

Crap, even CBS News does the back-button hijack now?

Guess I'll never visit them again. Immediate forever blacklist with that crap.

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greengolfballs t1_j25hdwm wrote

Replying to Bioslug (#1,149,472)

Which didn’t include Uranus or Neptune. If you read that article, it was only the planets you can see without a telescope: i.e. Mercury Venus, (Earth), Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Still reasonably uncommon though, especially in that exact order.

Seeing any three planets in the same part of the sky is trivial. Happens all the time..

But seeing seven (plus earth) is exceptionally uncommon. It will happen again in 2040 and after that 2854.

Neptune and Uranus have the longest orbits (165 and 84 earth years respectively) so most of the time they’re not in sync AND you’ve got to wait for the other giants and inner planets to be on the same side of the sun too, so you can understand the rarity.

A parade is not the same as an alignment by the way. An alignment is when the planets (from earth’s perspective) line up within a narrowly defined margin of one another. If that margin is one degree of arc for example, you could expect all 8 planets to align once every 13.4 trillion years. Which is to say, never, because that’s 1000x the current age of the entire universe. On the plus side, the sun will become a red giant, engulfing Mercury and Venus within that time, meaning fewer planets and thus slightly higher chances of alignment. Then again the earth will be consumed too, so, you know, c'est la mort.

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greengolfballs t1_j25ibbs wrote

Replying to stanspaceman (#1,153,275)

The one earlier this year didn’t include Neptune or Uranus (which the author neglected to mention). Still counts as a “parade”, but 8 together is super uncommon. The next 8-parade (see my other comment) is in 2040 and the one after that is 800 years later.

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DildoDouchBaggins t1_j25mdk3 wrote

Replying to Occulus1975 (#1,155,650)

Thanks for letting us know! I've spent weeks wondering what your reaction to this was going to be. My family and friends can now rest easy knowing that you've taken this incredibly important stand. Let me be the first to say, Bravo. Can't wait to get your input on the other pressing issues of the day!

−7

psgrue t1_j25r4gz wrote

Replying to Kaeligos (#1,156,026)

Oh you’re too modest. Just slicing the previous owner’s arm off at the shoulder doesn’t make it mine. I swung it like a Louisville Slugger. You made it sing (and fireball). It’s yours now. Keep it.

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KmartQuality t1_j25umkk wrote

Is there any sort of grand effect of having all those planets on one side of the sun? Does the solar system wobble?

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KmartQuality t1_j25uz50 wrote

Replying to 2C104 (#1,151,742)

It's not something that can fit in a picture.

It's literally a swath of the entire perfectly clear night sky, from horizon to horizon, just before dawn or just after dusk.

It's all the planets one one side of the solar system (the night side as viewed from earth)

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BareNakedSole t1_j25v5tg wrote

I’ve watched enough bad sci-fi movies to know this is not good

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because_of_ghosts t1_j25znd5 wrote

Replying to KmartQuality (#1,159,325)

It’s what I call reddit. Combo of redddit and Facebook, referencing Facebooks unpopular function of only showing you news it thinks you want versus most recent. Essentially another method to try to control the flow of information to users.

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a_cute_epic_axis t1_j266oia wrote

Replying to tackleberry2219 (#1,143,321)

I feel like this is the third time this year this rare event happened or one that is almost the damn same.

Like how every year the (insert name here) meteor shower will be the (insert nonsensical and possibly not even true platitude) of our lifetime. My favorite was one where the claim was something like "there are estimated to be more meteors than any other time in the past" and included a diagram of the sky on where to look, but omitted the full moon that almost perfectly coincided with the apparent source of the meteor shower.

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a_cute_epic_axis t1_j26jhs2 wrote

Replying to KmartQuality (#1,164,215)

It really wouldn't be hard at all to obtain if you have one location that can see the entire relevant section of the sky without obstruction, although you would indeed see mostly just dots of light. For illustrative purposes (assuming you don't want to make a literal drawn illustration), you could take a picture with some understandable foreground and then enhance or mark up the photo to point out what it would look like. A drawn illustration or a screenshot from planetarium software would be easier, of course.

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a_cute_epic_axis t1_j26lxov wrote

Replying to KmartQuality (#1,164,377)

> That's a LOT more work than writing an article that says hope it's clear and look up tonight.

That's true but you said

> It's not something that can fit in a picture.

Which is bullshit because you certainly can. In fact you can take all of them in just three shots with an 18mm kit lens, well within the range of most people who would care to stand on a hill and take a picture. Obtaining a picture isn't hard at all, and you could probably do it in 10 shots zoomed in on the same kit lens, then stitch it with free or low cost software online. It's not going to be the JWST, but "not something that can fit in a picture" and "VERY difficult" are BS.

> I don't see you paying any subscription money.

I'm not sure how you determine that, but that said if I wanted that picture, I'd just go take it. Astro mounts for a camera are relatively cheap.

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KmartQuality t1_j26mser wrote

Replying to a_cute_epic_axis (#1,164,811)

Take the picture for us.

Document how long it took you and the cloud conditions that night, and your normal rate of pay for work, and your equipment and price for it.

I stand ready to be corrected. I expect quality, publishable images.

−3

wbruce098 t1_j2773ti wrote

They rally round their orbits… with a pocket full of shells! Planets on parade. ✊🏼

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Hot_Kaleidoscope7091 t1_j27zxdk wrote

Agreed with “tackleberry2219”, it would be nice to hear about it B-4 it happened. I have a Granddaughter that already knows all of the Clouds Names that are in the sky, & she was only 5 years old at the time. Both She & I would have loved to C that amazing Planetary Lineup in the Heavens.

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TonguePop86 t1_j284eq0 wrote

I wish they would update these solar system images. We don't have a flat solar system plane lol.

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PeterServo t1_j2854jr wrote

If only the sky wasn't cloudy 90% of the time.

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Mackheath1 t1_j28rjgx wrote

Replying to xxx_pussyslayer_420 (#1,151,375)

Yes. I have a friend who occasionally goes to 'psychics'. At first I wanted to ask, "Uh, how much do you pay them??" But after hearing her description about how they talk about her relationships, worries, stresses, hopes, etc.

The psychic who sees many people a day, doesn't give her false promises or anything, but is more like a therapist. And honestly, in this particular situation, I'd say better than a therapist. And cheaper.

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