Have ALL of the planets ever been in alignment? When is the next time it will happen?
by 
Drublic
ANSWERS: 5
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When astrologers speak of the planets being aligned they don't mean that the planets will actually all lie on a straight line at some instant of time. One calculation of alignments within around thirty degrees (about as close as they can get) shows that the last such alignment was in 561 BC, and the next will be in 2854. All nine planets are somewhat aligned every 500 years, and are grouped within 30 degrees every 1 to 3 alignments. http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=203
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I remember this happening some years back. Nothing happened at all.
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Sorry, but astronomers OUGHT to be VERY interested, because THAT is what determines when and how the Earth's rotational axis shifts, and THAT is what causes the periodic ice ages Earth has experienced every 100000 years for the last few million years. It is NOT inconsequential.
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This is not my answer...(I just copied and pasted it here) I found it at: http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/961207a.html Given that the solar system has been around for several billion years, the odds are that the planets have been reasonably well lined up any number of times. There are a number of things to keep in mind, however. First, there is a difference between having the planets aligned with respect to the Sun or as viewed from Earth. If the planets are lined up from the Sun, they also appear lined up from the Earth. If they are lined up from the Earth they need not be lined up from the Sun. Second, there is the question of just how well aligned they are. Perfect alignment is hard. All just being in the sky at the same time is much easier. Anyway, there is software available for you to check it out if you need a more exact answer. * http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Solar. This page will give you a map of the solar system for any date you input. (Eg., in June of 1988, all the planets except Jupiter were on the same side of the Sun, and, excepting Pluto, formed kind of a line, as well)
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the planets should be closest in the year 2854 .
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