Скачать или смотреть Interesting Cosmos Fact #1: Why a Real Planetary Alignment Is Almost Impossible

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When Will the Real Planetary Alignment Happen? A Mathematical Perspective
News outlets and popular astronomy blogs love to talk about “planetary alignments”. Headlines like “A rare planetary parade is happening tomorrow!” seem to pop up every year. But if we take a mathematically strict look, many of these claims don’t hold up. What really counts as a planetary alignment? How many planets need to be involved? And how precise must their positions be to qualify as a true alignment?
Let’s break it down.

What Is a Planetary Alignment, Really?

In a general sense, a planetary alignment occurs when several planets (typically 3 or more) are positioned on the same side of the Sun, within a specific angular sector — meaning they appear close together in the sky from our perspective on Earth.

But in a strict astronomical sense, a true alignment should involve:

Planets lying nearly in a straight line,

Positioned within a narrow angular range,

Preferably all 8 major planets (or at least the outer planets beyond Earth).

Such a configuration is exceptionally rare.

Why Is a True Alignment So Unlikely?

Because each planet:

Has a different orbital period,

Moves along an elliptical path,

Orbits in a slightly tilted plane.
To synchronize all these orbital paths so the planets appear tightly grouped in space — not just in our sky — is an extremely rare mathematical coincidence.

When Did or Will It Happen?

September 8, 2040 – Five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) will be within a 10° sector.

May 6, 2492 – One of the closest events resembling a full alignment of all 8 planets, within about 35°.

But here’s the catch:

The last time all 8 planets aligned within 1 degree of angular precision? Never in the past 100,000 years — and not expected in the next million years, according to NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory calculations.
Why the Media Overhypes It

Because even partial alignments can look spectacular to the naked eye — especially at sunrise or sunset. And the term “planetary parade” is catchy.

But most of the time:

Planets only appear aligned from Earth, while in reality, they’re scattered throughout the solar system.

Their positions in 3D space do not form a line at all.

The media often confuses sky proximity with actual alignment.

Examples of Overhyped “Alignments”:

June 2022 – Five planets were visible in a line in the sky, but they were on different sides of the Sun.

March 2023 – Again, five planets were visible, but their spatial positions were not even close to a line.

Conclusion

A true planetary alignment, where all 8 planets line up with tight precision, is astronomically rare.
Most so-called “planetary alignments” are visual effects — interesting to observe, but not geometrically special.
Popular science articles often stretch the definition, leading to misconceptions.