5 Planets Will Align Over Illinois: Local Forecast, How To Watch

ILLINOIS — For local sky gazers who are willing to rise and shine early on Friday morning, a rare alignment of five planets that won’t be seen again for decades is coming to a peak after the summer solstice when a crescent moon joins the parade in the nighttime skies over Illinois

If you’re putting sky-watching on your weekend agenda, the weather forecast across the state looks pretty favorable. According to the National Weather Service, skies will be clear in the overnight hours on Friday with temperatures hanging around the mid-60s before abundant sunshine takes over for the daytime hours with temperatures in the mid-80s.

The procession of planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, in that order — will be visible just above the eastern horizon for an hour or so before sunrise through the end of the month, according to AccuWeather.

The best date to mark is before 5 a.m. Central Time on Friday morning, when a crescent moon joins the planetary parade.

Best of all, the planetary alignment is visible without a telescope, though AccuWeather notes that Mercury may be hard to spot because it’s the dimmest of the planets and will be the lowest in the sky.

For the best chance to see all five planets, try to find a fairly flat open space without trees, buildings, and mountains to get in the way.

The last time the five planets lined up was in 2004, and it won’t happen again until 2040, according to AccuWeather.

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