According to Sky & Telescope, star observers around the world will be able to witness a rare celestial delight during the month of June. Just before the sun rises, five planets will line up in the night sky in a rare conjunction. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will extend across the sky from the bottom of the east to the highest in the south in that exact order.
The conjunction of two or three planets together is a fairly common occurrence, but being able to see five at a time is a rare occurrence. The fact that these planets are aligned in the same order as their distance from the sun makes this event even more special. Mercury will be difficult to observe at the beginning of the month: viewers will need an unobstructed view of its eastern horizon and may need binoculars to detect it.
But as the month progresses, Mercury will continue to rise higher and higher as it lights up in the dark sky. This will make it easier to detect in the rare planetary formation. The last time such an event took place was in December 2004. But this time, the gap between Mercury and Saturn is much shorter than the last time we could see five planets in the sky with our naked eyes.
According to Sky & Telescope, the planetary formation will be more attractive on June 24, when Mercury will be much easier to detect. Viewers will also have about an hour to enjoy the conjunction between when Mercury moves above the horizon and the sunrise when it is too bright to see the planets. Interestingly, there will also be a waning crescent moon between Venus and Mars as the planets extend further across the sky.
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Even though it is cloudy on June 24, you can still see the rare planetary conjunction on the other days of the month. All you have to do is wake up early before sunrise and have an unobstructed view of the horizon where you plan to witness the great celestial event.