“If we were somewhere in space other than Earth, these planets would not appear to be aligned,” said Alphonse Sterling, an astrophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in a statement.

Six-planet alignments occur infrequently, depending on each planet's orbit and position as seen from Earth.

Despite this, the same approximate alignment of six planets may be visible later this year during the hours before dawn on August 28 and again on January 18, 2025.

“It’s not unusual to see two or three lined up, but six of them lined up like this is unusual,” explained the official.

The planetary alignment is likely to be most visible 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise, looking east from a high, dark point with minimal light pollution and an unobstructed view of the entire horizon.

The planets Mars and Saturn will be identifiable to the naked eye, and Mercury and Jupiter will also be visible near the horizon.

However, to add Neptune and Uranus to the alignment you will need to use a telescope or high-powered binoculars.

The six-planet alignment is more common than a full planetary alignment, in which all eight planets in Earth's solar system would appear to fall in approximate formation on the same side of the Sun.