Experts have advised the public not to believe what is being circulated on social media. Reports of a spectacular event occurring in the sky on Tuesday are false. Raghunandan Kumar, Director of the Planetary Society of India, has confirmed that there will be no alignment of five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus – in an arc form along with the moon after sunset. This is not a rare astronomical event as claimed earlier.
Venus has been visible in the sky since December, and Mars will be visible near the moon from evening to midnight on Tuesday. However, it will not be very clear and cannot be seen with the naked eye. The alignment of the five planets is a common occurrence in our Solar System because the planets orbit around the Sun in approximately the same plane – the ecliptic plane – and thus trace similar paths across our sky. This event happened last year as well.
Uranus is very dim, and even with the help of a telescope, it will not be visible. Jupiter and Mercury are near the horizon, which is why they are rising and setting along with the sun, making them invisible. Venus, on the other hand, will continue to be visible in the evening sky as a non-twinkling bright object on the west side until August 2023.
Regarding Mars being visible on Tuesday, experts explained that an astronomical event known as conjunction would take place, bringing Mars and Moon into proximity to each other as seen from Earth. These two bright objects will be spotted after sunset till midnight, but Mars will appear as a dim red object and will not be visible with the naked eye.
