May 2031 Planet Parade: 4 planets in the evening sky

Venus, Mars, Saturn and Uranus share the evening sky around May 4, 2031. Below: what each planet looks like, how to catch the line-up, and how this parade compares with its neighbors.

Call it a planet parade or a line-up; either way it is a viewing-angle coincidence, not a rendezvous. The Solar System is flat enough that its planets always keep to one narrow track across our sky, so when several are up at once they inevitably form a rough line. Everything quoted here is figured for mid-northern latitudes (around 40°N), and the live tracker adjusts it to your own horizon.

Planet by planet

Venus sits a comfortable 29° above the horizon in the west. After the Sun and Moon it is the brightest object in the sky, unmistakable even from a light-polluted city.

Mars hangs low, only about 11° up in the east-southeast, so it needs a flat, open horizon in that direction. Mars swings around to a bright close approach only every 26 months, so how brilliant it looks in any given parade is a roll of the orbital dice.

Saturn hangs low, only about 11° up in the west-northwest, so it needs a flat, open horizon in that direction. Its famous rings do not show in binoculars; a small telescope at 25x or more opens them up.

Uranus sits a comfortable 22° above the horizon in the west-northwest. Binoculars show it as a faint blue-green star; a telescope at high power turns it into a tiny disk.

On the zodiac that evening, Venus, Saturn and Uranus share Gemini; Mars stands in Scorpio. Signs here are the tropical longitudes the tables on this site use, counted from 0° at the spring equinox.

The Moon joins the line-up too, about 33° up in the southeast. It makes a handy signpost for star-hopping to the fainter planets.

How to watch this parade

No alarm needed: start about 54 minutes after local sunset on Sunday, May 4, 2031, once the twilight has faded enough for the planets to pop out one by one.

The limiting planet is Saturn at only about 11° up, so pick a viewing spot with an unobstructed view toward the west-northwest. The line stretches about 155° along the ecliptic, so sweep your gaze along the Sun's daily path to trace it.

One pairing stands out this time: Venus and Uranus sit about 7° apart, close enough to frame together in binoculars or a single photo.

You need no equipment for Venus, Mars and Saturn; Uranus is the reason to bring binoculars or a small telescope.

How good is this one?

Our tracker scores every parade from 0 to 100. This one rates 45 out of 100: 20 of 35 points for the number of planets, 15 of 25 for naked-eye planets, 3 of 20 for how tightly they group, 5 of 10 for altitude, and 2 of 10 for staying power.

The window is short, so aim for the nights right around the peak. The previous parade over this reference location peaked in March 2031 with 5 planets; the next comes in September 2031 with 4 planets.

Can a parade influence Earth? No; the influence runs the other way, on observers. Planetary gravity at these distances amounts to a rounding error next to the Moon's everyday tides, thousands of times smaller even in combination. Nothing in the ocean, the atmosphere or the crust registers a parade. Eyes and cameras do.

Frequently asked questions

Which planets are part of the May 2031 planet parade?

Venus, Mars, Saturn and Uranus. Venus, Mars and Saturn are visible to the naked eye; Uranus needs binoculars or a telescope.

What time should I look for the May 2031 planet parade?

Start looking about 54 minutes after local sunset, with the best evening on Sunday, May 4, 2031. Good evenings run from May 1, 2031 to May 8, 2031.

Do I need a telescope to see this planet parade?

Not for the highlights: Venus, Mars and Saturn show with the unaided eye. You only need binoculars or a telescope for Uranus.

Where in the sky should I look?

Face the western sky about 54 minutes after sunset. The planets sit between about 11° and 29° above the horizon, strung along the ecliptic.

Keep exploring: the Planet Parade Tracker for any date and place, the Planetary Alignment Calculator for exact conjunction dates, and the Synodic-Period Calculator for how often two planets meet.