•The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) has debunked viral social media claims of a rare planetary alignment on February 28, calling them “highly exaggerated and misleading”.
•Scientists clarified that while a 'planet parade' describes several planets in the same sky region, they remain millions of kilometers apart and do not form a 'perfect line'.
•Jupiter will be easily visible high in the evening sky until 3:30 am, offering views of its belts and Galilean moons with small telescopes.
•Mercury, Venus, and Saturn will be extremely difficult or impossible to spot due to their proximity to the Sun and low horizon positions.
•IIA issued a safety warning against using instruments to view planets near the Sun, cautioning against permanent eye damage, and noted Uranus and Neptune require telescopes.
