The dawn sky will be decorated with a rare and picturesque astronomical phenomenon this month. Five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — will be aligned and be visible to the naked eye under suitable conditions.

The formation is expected to last through June 2022, and can be witnessed from both the hemispheres with minor adjustments. More than half of our solar system neighbours will be aligned on the horizon before sunrise, starting Friday.

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The order in which these planets will appear is also interesting. They will form an arc in the order of their distance from the sun. This means that Mercury, the closest to the star, will be the lowest. Saturn, the farthest out of the five planets, will be at the top.

How to watch the rare star alignment?

Space watchers in the northern and southern hemispheres will have to follow different guidelines to view the astronomical phenomenon. The time, however, remains the same. The alignment will be visible roughly 30 minutes before sunrise.

Those in the northern hemisphere should look for the five planets at the eastern and southeastern horizons.  Those wishing to see the formation from the southern hemisphere will have to secure an unobstructed view of the eastern and northeastern horizons.

The party will break up after June, ending a rare astronomical spectacle. It is common for a few planets to line up but this occurrence is rare as five planets are coming together and in the same order in which they orbit our sun.

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According to reports from Sky & Telescope, the last time a unique planetary alignment happened was in 2004.

The planets will slowly appear to distance as days pass by. According to a statement from NASA, “Venus and Saturn will make their exits as morning objects for most observers by September”, NBC News reported.