Exact time you will be able to see 'parade' of six planets in night sky this week

A rare celestial phenomenon seen only once every few years will light up the sky this week.

Stargazers will be able to spot six of the planets in our solar system lining up in the sky in a ‘planetary parade’. Four of the planets – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus – will even be visible to the naked eye.

So if you look up at the sky and spot four more eye-catching ‘stars’, they might actually be planets! And those with a telescope will see Neptune and Uranus join the party. NASA says Venus and Saturn will be visible in the southwest just after sunset, with Jupiter overhead and Mars in the east completing the planetary display.

Planetary alignment is an astronomical term used to describe when planets gather closely on one side of the Sun at the same time.

Although planets are technically always ‘aligned’ because they orbit the solar system on the same plane (called the ecliptic), it’s rare to see four or five planets at once, NASA says.

An alignment of five or six participating planets is classed as a ‘large’ planetary alignment, which only happens once every few years.

The earliest, and possibly the best, time to spot the four planets in the sky is 6pm UK time on 18 January, Dr Dan Brown, an astronomy expert at Nottingham Trent University, told The Sun. The planets will sit approximately 20 degrees above the horizon.

The good news is that this isn’t your only chance to see the parade. They should be visible from 5pm to 9pm that night, but 6pm might just offer the best viewing conditions.

But don’t fret if you miss it (or if bad weather affects visibility). The Royal Observatory says the best night to view the four-planet parade is January 21, from just after sunset until around 9pm.

This is when all planets visible in the