The five planets will rise above the horizon from 1.30 am (Image: Getty)
Five “naked eye” planets in our solar system will be visible all at once this festive weekend.
The British who don’t have too much hangover from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations will have a special treat on Friday morning.
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn line up in order of distance from the Sun.
People with unobstructed views of the horizon to the east and southeast can observe the rare event.
This is the first time five of them have been seen from Britain in this particular line-up since December 2004.
Professor Beth Biller, personal president of exoplanet characterization at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Astronomy, told The Guardian: “This is really great. We now know of many other stars that host various planets.
“This is a rare opportunity to see the same thing closer to home, with five planets” with the naked eye “in our solar system visible at the same time.”
This is the first time five of them can be seen from Britain in this particular lineup since 2014 (Image: Getty) There will be another chance on June 24 (Image: Sky & Telescope)
The planets will rise above the horizon at the following times: Saturn at 1:30 a.m., Mars and Jupiter at 2:45 a.m., Venus at 4 a.m., and Mercury at 4:30 p.m. morning.
Dr. Greg Brown, the public astronomy officer at the Royal Museums Greenwich, said that from all the planets, it will be easier to glimpse Venus and Jupiter.
Mercury will be the weakest, but it will be easier to detect as the month progresses.
“Your only chance to see the five planets at once is during a very narrow window after Mercury has come out, but before the sun does,” he warned.
“Binoculars or a telescope may be enough to get through the twilight in the case of the faintest planets, but be very careful when trying to observe Mercury in this particular way.
“Make sure the sun is below the horizon to avoid accidentally looking directly at it, which would be very dangerous to your eyes.”
While this is a very special fact, don’t be alarmed if you sleep during this time.
Amateur astronomers will have a chance to see it again with the moon joining the line later in June, but again before sunrise.
According to Dr. Samantha Rolfe, chief technical officer of the University of Hertfordshire Observatory, the “extraordinary scene” will take place on June 24.
Contact our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check out our news page.