Space fans will be delighted to hear that a strange phenomenon is happening in the night sky.
Five of our planetary neighbors – Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury – will line up and be seen with the naked eye.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the planetary alignment?
The planetary alignment will take place from now until the end of June. You won’t be able to see it in the first half of the evening, though, so it means an early climb. The best time to see it will be around June 24th.
The last time this formation occurred was March 5, 1864, according to Space.com, and it is unlikely to happen again for many decades.
What will happen?
The planets will begin to appear first in the middle of the night and then will be revealed one by one each. The last planet will appear about 30 or 40 minutes before sunrise
With a telescope you can also see the rings of Saturn and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.
When they are all seen at once, they will appear in the order in which they are in the solar system, from the nearest to the sun (Mercury) to the farthest (Saturn).
The only planets that are missing are Uranus, Neptune and, of course, Earth. However, the Moon will be visible between June 23 and 25 and will be located between Mars and Venus.
How can I see it?
It will be harder to see the five planets from the UK because the further north you go, the harder it will be to detect Mercury.
Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told Newsweek: “As far north as southern Europe and the southern United States, observers should be able to see the five planets quite easily, but Mercury it is very low and difficult when reaching as far north as the UK and Canada.
“The reason is that the inclination of the ecliptic, the imaginary plane of the solar system, has a very shallow angle here in the June morning sky, while in the southern hemisphere it makes a sharp angle with the horizon.”
People in the southern hemisphere will have the best view, although southern Europe will also be able to see them with some ease.
That’s not to say you won’t see anything in the UK, and experts say one of the highlights of this lineup is that it can be seen even from light-polluted cities and urban areas.
You will not need a telescope or binoculars to contemplate the view, although they will be useful.
Joe Rao of Space.com said: “Make sure you have an unobstructed view of the east and south horizons so that you have a clear view of the moon and planets on any morning.
“The best views will be from an elevated area above any building or tall tree, or from a shoreline from where open water can be seen to a flat sea horizon.”