Every planet to be visible tonight as Scots location named best place to spot it 

EVERY single planet in our solar system is set to be visible in the sky tonight – and experts have revealed that a Scottish location is the best place to see it.

Stargazers will be able to see all the planets as a rare planetary parade lights up the sky after sunset.

Getty

All the planets will align in the sky as part of a rare planetary parade[/caption]

Getty

Experts have also revealed the best location to see the event[/caption]

EPA

Stargazers will be able to catch the phenomenal event tonight[/caption]

The incredible phenomenon will see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all appear in full alignment.

A planetary alignment or parade is an astronomical term that is used to describe an event in which several planets gather closely on one side of the sun at the same time.

A row of four or five planets aligning happens regularly, however, six or seven aligning at one time is incredibly rare.

This is because each planet takes a different amount of time to orbit the sun, which means it’s not often they all line up at the same time.

For example, Earth takes 365 days to complete one orbit, while Neptune takes 60,190 Earth days.

Mars takes a total of 687 Earth days to complete one orbit while Mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun, only takes 88 days.

Six planets have already been aligned all week, and tonight Mercury will be the seventh planet to appear.

The next planetary alignment of five or more planets will be in late October 2028 and then in February 2034.

However, because an alignment of seven planets is so rare, it will be 15 years before it happens again.

This means it will be 2040 before stargazers will be able to see it in the sky if they miss the chance to see it tonight.

When is the planetary parade?

Stargazers will be able to catch the phenomenal event that will see all of the planets align in the night sky tonight.

It will appear just above the horizon any time after the sun sets.

However, not all of the planets will be visible to the naked eye.

While most of the planets will look like extra bright stars, you will need a telescope or binoculars to view Neptune and Uranus.

Where can I see it?

Even people in cities and light-polluted areas will be able to see most planets.

However, it is advisable to find a darker location to make the most of the event.

Experts have also revealed that one Scottish location is actually the best place across the UK to see it.

Beaches have often been said to be among the best spots to watch cosmic activity with their dark skies and low light pollution.

And experts at Simply Sea Views have said Ardalanish Beach on the Isle of Mull is the best location to catch the planetary parade tonight.

The beach has a mile-long stretch of silver sand as well as many rock pools and sand dunes and can only be accessed by foot.

What causes the alignment?

Planets are constantly moving, which means their paths occasionally cross into an alignment in Earth’s sky, as Dr Brown explains:

“All planets including Earth move in more or less the same plane in our solar system. 

“So that from our perspective the planets are always very close to the apparent path of the Sun in the sky also known as the ecliptic.

“This means they will always be along this line.

“You could compare it with cars on a straight road.

“Since they can only drive on the road they will always be found along the road in more or less a line.

“What varies is how close they are to each other and when we can see them.”

However, for those who want to visit the beach, there is a small parking area that is located around half a mile away.

The experts analysed the Bortle dark sky scale of beaches across the UK, which is a nine-level scale that measures the night sky’s brightness in that specific area to find the best 10 spots across Britain.

And Ardalanish Beach had a Bortle class score of 1, which means many stars are visible from the beach and it’s likely that the planets will be, too.

Kilvickeon Beach, which is also located on the Isle of Mull, ranked second in the list with a Bortle scale class of 2.

Josh Williams, founder and coastal expert, said: “Nighttime experiential travel such as stargazing, star-bathing, spotting the Northern Lights and general interest in astronomical events have seen a huge uptick in popularity in recent years.

“Now with the rise of travel trends such as noctourism, we’ve been able to discover the best beaches around the UK for you to visit at night to get your nightly beach fix.

“Adventuring on the beach under the moonlight and stars is a way for people to have a transformative experience that is vastly different than during the day.

“Whilst being on the beach during daytime hours has always been a popular pastime, many people aren’t aware of how magical it can be at night, especially in these locations with low light pollution.”