Every few years or so, something wonderful happens: all five naked-eye planets appear in the evening sky at the same time. You can walk outside after dinner, and without any kind of telescope, see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter.

You may have missed the sigh years ago, but this planetary alignment is one you should not miss. It’s a rare opportunity to see the five bright planets at one time with the naked eye so during the last half of April and the first part of May.

This month, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury will be clearly visible between April 15 and 30, with Mercury joining in to shine in the night sky in the month-end. The phenomenon is being referred to as a 'clumping,' 'clustering' or 'alignment' of the planets. Such a planetary alignment is a rare occurrence because all these planets are normally not visible in the same part of the sky. This alignment is being dubbed the planetary event of the century because such a grouping of the planets will not happen again this century.

The best time to see the planetary alignment is just after sunset in the evening, in the Western sky. While this event is being dubbed a rare alignment, the planets will not actually be in one straight line. Instead, they will all be visible in a cluster, making them easy to spot.

One easy way to identify the planets will be to keep the Moon as your mark. On April 14, the planet that appears closest to the Moon will be Venus, on April 15 -- Mars, on April 16 -- Saturn, on April 17 -- Jupiter. Venus will be the brightest of all the planets in the group, while Mars will be the dimmest.

Take a peek and look out; you may be surprised at the sight and its wonders.

Source: MIW