Our skies are putting up quite a show. A rare planetary alignment is happening this year, capturing the attention of astronomers and stargazers. So, if you are a planet enthusiast, passionate about the mysteries of the universe, this is your chance to catch a rare view of all six planets appearing together. Some are also calling this rare cosmic event a planetary parade. In the capital and Paro, a youth group, Youth for Health and Happiness, also hosted an event to take part in this rare astronomical show.
The year 2025 opened its astronomical calendar with a spectacular cosmic theatre. What makes this event particularly accessible is the planets’ visibility even through the veil of urban light pollution.
In the northwest, what appears like a bright star is Venus, and not too far from it, a bit dimmer is Saturn.
As we move across the sky, looking straight up, a bright planet will be visible and that is Jupiter. Continuing in a straight line over toward the west is the red planet: Mars.
In between Saturn and Jupiter, sits two planets which are not visible to the naked eye. With binoculars or a telescope, Uranus and Neptune can be seen.
These planets will appear until the middle of next month.
Joe Wise, a retired physics teacher who also worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA for almost two decades shed light on this rare phenomenon.
“This happens every 10 to 20 years. It is neat to see. It is not particularly unusual, but this is called a parade of planets when there are several planets in the same region of the sky. So normally when you look up at the night sky, you may be able to see two, three, and one planet in the night sky. This particular time of the year, at this particular orientation of the planets in the solar system, we can see these six.”
Meanwhile, in Bhutan, the Youth for Health and Happiness group gathered over a hundred people for a unique planetary viewing experience.
“Right now we are holding an astro camp at Kuensel Phodrang and we are gazing at the planetary parade. Starting from the west, we have Saturn, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Mars. So, all of them are going to be in an arc,” said Jigme Thinley Choeda, a volunteer at the Youth for Health and Happiness.
“January 21st and 22nd we showed in Paro Khangku School, and it went very well. People participated and said that the youths are doing very well and are related to charity work. It took place for two days in Paro,” said Tenzin Yangtso, a youth leader at the Youth for Health and Happiness.
The group charges a nominal fee of up to Nu 300. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Bhutan Kidney Foundation.
Since not all participants were able to view the planets, the group plans to reschedule another event next month.
Having worked in Bhutan for a project to install telescopes in the country, Joe highlighted the country’s potential for astro-tourism given the gifted dark night skies.
Currently, there are three Panoptes telescopes in Bhutan, two in Paro and one in Samtse.
“There are some really exciting long-term scientific and cultural benefits. In Bhutan, starting to look more and more to the sky, there is astro-tourism, which feeds very well into the trekking and hiking that happens in Bhutan. So that you can take telescopes. The skies are quite dark in Bhutan and it is quite easy to get phenomenal images with the telescopes. There is a great future looking to the sky,” said J.A. Wise.
Furthermore, there are plans underway to establish Bhutan’s first observatory, a dedicated space for housing telescopes and offering a closer look at the night sky.
These ongoing initiatives highlight Bhutan’s emerging role in global astronomy, inspiring both locals and visitors to look up and explore the wonders above.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Phub Gyem
