Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2026 February 24
     [2]The featured image shows four planets lined up behind the Sydney
     Opera House in Australia. The image was taken one morning in April
   2022, just before sunrise. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                    Planet Parade over Sydney Opera House
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Prasun Agrawal

   Explanation: Look up this week and see a whole bunch of planets. Just
   after sunset, looking west (mostly), planets [4]Mercury, [5]Venus,
   [6]Saturn, and [7]Jupiter will all be visible to the unaided eye
   simultaneously. If you have a telescope, planets [8]Uranus and
   [9]Neptune can also be seen. In order up from the horizon, the lineup
   this week will be [10]Venus (the brightest), [11]Mercury, [12]Saturn,
   Neptune, Uranus, and [13]Jupiter (second brightest). It doesn't matter
   where on [14]Earth you live because this early evening [15]planet
   parade will be visible through [16]clear skies all around the globe.
   The planets will appear to be [17]nearly in a line because they all
   orbit the [18]Sun in nearly the same plane: the [19]ecliptic. The
   [20]featured image shows a [21]similar planet parade that occurred in
   2022, captured over the [22]Sydney Opera House in southern
   [23]Australia. Although [24]visible all week, the planets will be most
   [25]easily seen together this weekend.

                      Tomorrow's picture: [26]space egg
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [38]Robert Nemiroff ([39]MTU) & [40]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([41]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [42]Specific rights apply.
            [43]NASA Web Privacy, [44]Accessibility, [45]Notices;
                A service of: [46]ASD at [47]NASA / [48]GSFC,
                         [49]NASA Science Activation
                           & [50]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/PlanetParadeSydney_Agrawal_1663.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/astrosydney/
   4. https://science.nasa.gov/mercury/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/venus/
   6. https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/
   7. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/
   9. https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230315.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160717.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210119.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231114.html
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?tquery=planet+parade
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/global-maps/cloud-fraction/
  17. https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1347ypl/my_private_time_is_no_longer_private_the_six_cats/#lightbox
  18. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic
  20. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcpEDd4JTj-/
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220629.html
  22. https://youtu.be/mGFz4T5W2qY
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
  24. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/whats-up-february-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/
  25. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mercury-completes-the-planetary-parade-at-dusk
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260225.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260223.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  33. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  36. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260224
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260225.html
  38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  40. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  41. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  46. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  49. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  50. http://www.mtu.edu/