Planetary parade

In astronomy, a planetary parade, also known as a planetary alignment or planetary procession, occurs when multiple planets in the Solar System appear close together in the night sky, visible at the same time from Earth. However, a planetary parade is not a true alignment in space, but rather an apparent alignment that is the result of the planets' orbital positions relative to viewpoint of Earth-bound observers lying in an arc across the sky.

Planetary parades of three, four or five planets are commonplace events, but larger planetary parades are less frequent. Because the motions of planets are predictable, the timing of planetary parades past and future can be easily calculated across long time periods.