Could Guyana see all seven planets of the 28 February 2025 “planet parade”?
Planets · Friday 28 February 2025
The verdict for Guyana
Four of the seven planets were in reach of the naked eye from Georgetown: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
At 6:34 pm GYT, 30 minutes after sunset, seven were above the horizon in twilight, but Saturn needed a small telescope, Uranus needed a small telescope and Neptune needed a camera through the twilight and the low air.
Times shown in Guyana time (UTC-4, no daylight saving).
What was said, and what we found
Seven planets -- Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Saturn and Venus -- will be visible simultaneously and look like they’re all aligned when seen from Earth after sunset.
ABC News. “7-planet parade will be visible on last day of February”, published 28 February 2025. Read the source, fetched 14 October 2026.
The claim is partly right. Seven planets were above Georgetown's horizon at once, 30 minutes after sunset, but only four were bright enough to see with the eye in the twilight: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. They lay along the ecliptic across the sky, not in a line together.
The planets from Georgetown at 6:34 pm, 30 minutes after sunset (Sky: twilight, the Sun 8° down)
The planets from Georgetown at 6:34 pm, 30 minutes after sunset (Sky: twilight, the Sun 8° down)
Planet
Height and direction
Brightness (magnitude)
Gear needed then
Mercury
7° up, west
-1.0
The naked eye
Venus
19° up, west
-4.8
The naked eye
Mars
56° up, north-east
-0.3
The naked eye
Jupiter
73° up, north-west
-2.3
The naked eye
Saturn
2° up, west
1.0
A small telescope
Uranus
60° up, north-west
5.8
A small telescope
Neptune
10° up, west
8.0
A camera
Times shown in Guyana time (UTC-4, no daylight saving). Sunset at Georgetown was at 6:04 pm. Gear is judged through the twilight and the air at that minute; heights are degrees above the horizon.
The details
Every region town saw the same: four planets for the eye about half an hour after its own sunset.
Find it
Mercury from Georgetown at 6:34 pm GYT: face the west and look about half a fist up from the horizon (7°).
Venus from Georgetown at 6:34 pm GYT: face the west and look about two fists up from the horizon (19°).
Mars from Georgetown at 6:34 pm GYT: face the north-east and look about two hand-spans up from the horizon (56°).
Jupiter from Georgetown at 6:34 pm GYT: face the north-west and look about three hand-spans up from the horizon (73°).
At arm’s length a fist covers about 10°, a hand-span about 25°.
How to watch
Planet groupings are an evening or morning twilight sight: be out from sunset, with a clear view of the western horizon.
Venus and Jupiter are the brightest points in the sky; Mars is orange; none of them twinkles much.
Uranus and Neptune always need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
For a class
Ask students to sketch where each bright planet sits against the horizon, then compare with the table.
Explain why planets lie along one path, the ecliptic, and never line up in a row in space.
Use Solar System 3D to show where the planets were in their orbits that evening.