Stargazers are in for a treat as six planets will appear to line up together in the night sky, decorating our views of the cosmos for the rest of January and into February.
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will all be visible side by side, forming a line in the sky, while Mercury will unfortunately not be present. This rare planetary alignment can be appreciated over the coming weeks, with most of the solar system’s planets appearing as a bright twinkle to the naked eye, according to NASA.
The six planets only appear aligned from our perspective from Earth, a cosmic optical illusion since each follows a highly variable elliptical path around the Sun. Their alignment in the night sky, however, depends on the orbit and position of each planet as seen from Earth.
Although two or three planets lined up next to each other in the night sky are quite common, seeing four or five planets at the same time is a rare occasion. “These multi-planet viewing opportunities are not very rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth taking a look,” NASA wrote.
How to see the planet parade
Since the beginning of January, the planets have been moving closer to each other. Venus and Saturn came within a finger’s width of each other in our view of the night sky this week in a double planetary conjunction. In reality, the two planets are hundreds of millions of kilometers apart. Mars, on the other hand, is in opposition, meaning it is directly opposite the Sun from Earth and will shine all night throughout the month.
According to NASA, Venus and Saturn will appear in the southwest sky in the first hours after dark, while Jupiter will shine overhead and Mars will appear in the eastern sky. These four planets can be spotted with the naked eye, but you’ll need a telescope or powerful binoculars to see Uranus and Neptune.
The planetary alignment will likely be most visible about 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise. It is best observed from a high, dark vantage point, with little or no light pollution and a clear view of the sky.
The line formed by the planets in the night sky is called the ecliptic and represents the plane of the solar system in which the planets orbit the Sun, according to NASA. This is a rare opportunity to marvel at the scale of the solar system that is home to our planet and see the mighty planets twinkle in the sky.
Don’t worry if you can’t see the show for yourself: the European Virtual Telescope 2.0 project is organize a special live stream of the conjunction. The broadcast begins at 12:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. UTC) on January 25.