Stargazers are in for a rare treat as five planets will be visible in the sky this weekend!
On Saturday morning (June 17), planets Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn will be visible for a limited time before sunrise as they will line up near the eastern horizon.
If you are lucky, you can view the three brighter planets - Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn - with the naked eye, while you may need binoculars or a telescope to view Neptune and Uranus, according to StarWalks.
The reason for this spectacle is because of planetary parades - also known as alignments - which occur when several planets are located in the same constellation, at a 93-degree sector.
A mini-planetary alignment is when three planets are visible, while a small planetary alignment is when four planets are visible. So, as five planets will be observable on Saturday morning, stargazers will be able to catch a glimpse of a large planetary alignment.
However, Daily Mail reports that Saturn will actually rise in the dead of night on Friday (June 16) in the constellation of Aquarius. In addition to this, Jupiter will be in the constellation of Aries during the parade while Mercury will be in the constellation of Taurus.
To see the planetary alignment, the publication suggests finding a spot in the night sky where there is no light pollution, and has a clear view of the horizon, meaning a view without obstacles such as trees or tall buildings. NASA also suggests checking the weather forecast ahead of time to find a cloudless area.
"It’s essential for observing the planetary alignment on June 17 because Mercury will be close to the horizon, and two other planets, Uranus and Neptune, will be dim," the outlet said.
Another spectacle will be taking place after the planet parade on the same day or during the first hour of the next day as a new moon will emerge on June 18 at 12:37 AM ET or 11:37 PM CT, per MRT.
NASA stated that the new moon is the "invisible phase of the moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing Earth." This means that the moon "is in the same part of the sky as the Sun and rises and sets with the Sun".
The report added that in this phase, the moon "doesn’t usually pass directly between Earth and the Sun, due to the inclination of the Moon’s orbit. It only passes near the Sun from our perspective on Earth".
In addition to a new moon sighting, the northern hemisphere will experience the longest day of the year on June 21 which is known as the summer solstice.
