Skywatchers will have no clouds obstructing their view Saturday night of prime viewing for a planetary alignment. (Image Credit: Dreamstime)

By Alex Rawnsley

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Nanaimo skies to offer prime conditions for rare planetary alignment

Feb 27, 2026 | 4:24 PM

NANAIMO — Clear skies are set to afford local stargazers near ideal conditions to spot most of our celestial neighbours.

Six planets will be visible above the horizon shortly after sunset on Saturday, Feb. 28, stretching across the sky on a line astronomers call the ecliptic from the lower western sky to the higher eastern area.

VIU astronomy professor Dr. Gregory Arkos said Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be largely visible with the naked eye, while spotting Uranus and Neptune will require some extra help.

“The challenge is some of the planets are a lot brighter and a lot easier to spot than the others, and some of them are going to need help, through a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. It’s not like you can just walk out and see all of them with your naked eye, even in a dark sky.”

Mercury is the most fleeting of the sights on offer Saturday night, dropping below the horizon shortly after sunset.

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Jupiter, Venus and Saturn will offer a longer viewing opportunity.

Arkos recommends heading out around 6 p.m. and finding Mercury and Venus close to the horizon in the west, then moving your gaze southward over to the east.

Jupiter will be “very, very bright” and near the full moon in the sky.

The alignment began earlier this month and will continue until early March, however Saturday offers the peak viewing opportunity when the planets appear more tightly grouped.

Arkos said the best viewing conditions are found by escaping the city lights.

“Let your eyes get used to a bit of darkness so let them dark adapt, because you’re going to need to be looking for some fairly faint things, because the glow of the sun will still be there. If you go out too late, the problem is that the some of the planets will actually go and set below the horizon you won’t be able to see them.”

Seeing four or five planets at any one time is somewhat common, however, six is a lot rarer.

Getting seven planets in a single view, which happened briefly in January 2025, is not slated to happen again until 2040.

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