'Planet parade' to light up the skies offering 'sweeping view'

One of the stargazing highlights of the month is the alignment of four planets. Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter, you may be able to see the four planets with the naked eye but for Uranus and Neptune scientific equipment such as a telescope is needed.

Throughout January, the planets have shone bright and yesterday, January 16, we saw Mars reach opposition. The 'Red' planet positioned directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. This alignment made Mars appear at its brightest and largest in over two years, and it won't be as bright again until 2027.

Mars’s bright display is expected to continue through January and clear skies may provide some magnificent sights. Talking about the planets' alignment, NASA state: "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.)

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"Planets always appear along a line in the sky, so the “alignment” isn’t special. What’s less common is seeing four or five bright planets at once, which doesn’t happen every year. Is it a “planet parade”? This isn’t a technical term in astronomy, so call it what you wish!"

The occasion has been called 'planet parade' by many and because the planets are all in the same relative plane, they can appear to shine close to each other from our point of view on Earth. An example of this will happen tonight and tomorrow night (Saturday).

NASA say that Venus and Saturn will be in conjunction. The space Agency state: "Over a couple of weeks, the two planets come within just a couple of finger widths’ distance apart in the sky (about 2 degrees). They’re at their closest on the 17th and 18th."

Stargazers have the opportunity to take in four bright planets in a single, 'sweeping view', NASA say. You may mistake these planets for 'bright' stars. An alignment means multiple planets are all visible in the sky from Earth.

Three to eight planets constitutes an alignment. Five or six assembling is known as a large alignment. Venus and Jupiter will be the brightest planets in the sky, you can find them by looking west after sunset.

You can observe most of the planetary alignments without special equipment, so there is no need to fork out on telescopes or binoculars as the naked eye will be able to see most planets. If you want to see the six planets, binoculars or a telescope will be needed.