Five planets will be in visible in a rare formation this weekend

Five planets will be in visible in a rare formation this weekend

Over the weekend, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen in alignment without a telescope, Qazet.az reports according to the Independent.

Starting on Friday and carrying on through this month, the planets will be visible along the eastern horizon before sunrise, appearing in order of how far away they are from the sun. Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, will appear furthest down on the horizon and Saturn the highest.The most opportune viewing time for people living in the Northern Hemisphere will be about a half-hour before sunrise. The planets will also be able to be seen in the Southern Hemisphere above the eastern and northeastern horizons.

In clear conditions, the planets should be viewable with the naked eye, but Mercury will be the faintest early on in June and could be difficult to see without binoculars. The planet will grow brighter later this month and appear higher in the sky, meaning that it will be easier to spot, according to Sky & Telescope, which is published by the American Astronomical Society.

The outlet noted that the last time five planets could be seen in order was in December 2004.