How to see extremely rare 'planet parade' where six planets will align in the sky this week

NASA has revealed four planets will be possible to view with the naked eye in a 'planet parade' of six.

If only TikTok had gone dark long enough for people to put down their phones and look up for once.

However, if the temporary ban did prompt you to start questioning your incessant social media use and nudge you to getting off technology and appreciate the world around you more, how about a chance to see four planets align in the sky in a pretty rare astrological event?

The alignment

Last month, NASA revealed January will see avid stargazers able to catch 'a sweeping view of four bright planets at once'.

For the whole month, six planets - Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus - will align, with four planets visible to the naked eye - all of them bar Neptune and Uranus.

NASA notes planets 'always appear along a line in the sky' - the line called the 'ecliptic.'

"It represents the plane of the solar system in which the planets orbit around the Sun," it continues. "This is, incidentally, why we sometimes observe planets appearing to approach closely to each other on the sky, as we view them along a line while they careen around the cosmic racetrack."

Granted, given planets 'always' appear 'more of less along a line,' the 'alignment' itself isn't particularly 'special,' but 'what’s less common is seeing four or five bright planets at once, which doesn’t happen every year'.

Four planets will be visible to the naked eye (NASA)

Venus and Saturn will appear 'most cozy' on January 17 and 18 and Mars will end up lying 'directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, forming a straight line' this month, appearing the 'biggest and brightest' as it does roughly once every two years.

NASA adds: "Is it a “planet parade”? This isn’t a technical term in astronomy, so call it what you wish!"

But how can you best catch a look at this special alignment of four planets?

Four out of the six you can see with the naked eye but two of them require a telescope (Getty Stock Images)

How to see it

Well, NASA explains you should be able to 'take in' the 'four bright planets' in 'a single, sweeping view'.

And the best chance to do so? Well, it continues: "In the first couple of hours after dark, you’ll find Venus and Saturn in the southwest, Jupiter high overhead, and Mars in the east. (Uranus and Neptune are there too, but a telescope is needed to see them.)

"[...] All month after dark, you’ll find Venus and Saturn in the southwest for the first couple of hours, while Jupiter shines brightly high overhead, and Mars rises in the east. Uranus and Neptune are there too, technically, but they don’t appear as 'bright planets.'

"These multi-planet viewing opportunities aren’t super rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth checking it out."

So, with Forbes reporting 45 minutes after sunset as the optimal time to view the alignment, grab a seat outside - or even a telescope too if you're really going for it - and try and catch a look.

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