Turn on Bobbie Gentry at dawn on June 3 and look for the 'planet parade.' What to know
Many Mississippians know the third of June as the day Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge as Bobbie Gentry sang in her 1967 smash "Ode to Billie Joe." This year the date will coincide with a "parade of planets" in the early morning hours.
Far from "another sleepy, dusty Delta day," the celestial event will see Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune align in the sky.
The past few weeks of 2024 have been filled with cosmic activity, starting with the rare solar total eclipse on April 8. Then, in mid-May, the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, made a rare appearance as far south as the Gulf Coast.
The planet parade is up next, which occurs on average once every 20 years, according to Star Walk, a real-time interactive astronomy app that track's the movement of the night's sky.
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Here's what to know:
What is a planet alignment?
A planet "alignment" is when three or more planets are close to each other and appear to be in a line, explained Chris Sirola, associate professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Southern Mississippi.
"Planets can align because they, and us, are more-or-less orbiting the Sun in the same plane," Sirola said in an email. "You can see a similar effect by looking at Jupiter with a small telescope. Jupiter has four large moons like ours or larger, that do this (align) because they too orbit in a similar plane to ours. Saturn's moons don't and so we don't see Saturn's moons align from here in this fashion."
Specific alignments, like the one on June 3, are rare, though alignments in general are not, he said. For example, on May 23, Mercury, Venus and Uranus aligned.
When can you see the planets align?
The June 3 alignment is to happen right before dawn.
"People need to be willing to be up very early and looking toward the East with a clear line of sight," Sirola said.
Planets you'll see and planets you most likely won't see
Though six planets will align, Sirola stated it's not true that all will be visible:
The farthest planet involved in the planet parade, Neptune, is never visible to the naked eye. Sirola said "a sizeable telescope is needed to see it."
Uranus, the second farthest planet, is bright enough to be barely visible. But on June 3, the planet will be near the Sun and the Sun's glare will obscure it to the naked eye.
Since it's so close to the sun, Mercury is always difficult to see. Added to that is it's also not as bright as Mars, Jupiter or Saturn
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: 6 planets to align the day Billie Joe jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
