Alignments of five or more planets are rare—there will be two more featuring five or more planets this year, but after that the next won’t happen until 2040.

Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn can be spotted without special equipment, with Uranus and Neptune requiring a telescope.

On Friday 17 January and Saturday 18 January, six planets will line up in the night sky, in an event that some astronomers refer to as a planetary parade. Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus will appear together in a row, although Neptune and Uranus will only be visible with binoculars or a telescope.

Astronomer Dean Regas gives us the lowdown on the best things to look out for this winter, from a “planet parade” to the ATLAS comet.

Venus and Saturn will glow in the southwestern sky, with Jupiter in the southern sky and Mars in the southeast or east. The planets will shine brighter than the stars, and Mars will look like a reddish-orange dot. Consider downloading stargazing apps to help with where to look, Sparkes said.

Skygazers and astronomy enthusiasts can look forward to catching a rare "planet parade" in the night sky through January. According to NASA scientist Preston Dyches, the planets "will appear more or less along a line across" during a planetary alignment.

Keep your eye towards the sky starting on January 21st as six planets—Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus—will be visible in the night sky.

Six planets will be visible from the visible eye throughout January in a somewhat rare astronomical occurrence known as a "planetary parade."

A rare celestial phenomenon is about to light up the heavens, offering skywatchers a chance to marvel at the dynamic beauty of our Solar System. This February, a "Parade of Planets" will see all seven of Earth’s planetary neighbors align in a dazzling display.