'Planetary parade' will see SIX planets align in rare spectacle tonight - here's the best time to spot Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the night sky

Keen astronomers are in for a treat tonight, as a rare 'planetary parade' of six planets lights up the night sky.

Tonight, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will all be visible from Earth.

Excitingly, four of these planets will be visible with the naked eye, so you won't need any special equipment to enjoy the spectacle.

However, if you want to see the full array, you will need a telescope or a powerful pair of binoculars to catch distant Uranus and Neptune.

Although the planets are spread out over millions of miles, they all orbit on the same plane, known as the ecliptic.

This means, when the timing is right, multiple planets can line up in just the right way for stargazers to spot them from Earth.

Dr David Armstrong, associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Warwick University, says: 'Chances to see 4 bright planets with your own eyes occur every few years on average, so it's not once in a lifetime.

'Even so, the planets are best observable just after sunset, so this is one of the most convenient opportunities for several years.'

How to see the planetary parade

The planetary parade technically began near the start of the month, when multiple planets were visible in the sky.

However, until now, planets like Venus and Mercury have been too low and too far west to be visible so close to sunset.

That makes tonight and tomorrow evening the best possible opportunities to see all six planets stretching across the sky.

However, given the recent spell of rainy weather, it will be worth having a look during any clear evenings for the first week of March, as you may be able to see a few planets.

'The planets will be visible for an hour or so after sunset, though some will stay up for longer,' says Dr Armstrong.

'The best time is about half an hour after sunset.'

Mercury sits between Earth and the sun, which means that it often follows the sun quite closely in the evenings, making it quite hard to spot.

For most of February, Mercury has been so far in the west that the setting sun has made it all but impossible to see.

However, the closest planet to the sun is now setting much later after sunset, and should be visible close to the western horizon.

Venus has been similarly difficult to spot throughout the month, but will now be visible at around the same height and slightly to the left of Mercury.

These two planets will both be visible to the naked eye and should be so close to one another that you can't see one without spotting the other.

Saturn will only be a little higher in the sky than this pair and should be recognisable due to its distinctive yellow glow.

Jupiter will be much higher in the sky, and should be the brightest and easiest to see.

The gas giant will be about as high as the moon and further towards the East.

To get the best view, the most important thing will be to find a spot with an uninterrupted view and a wide, flat western horizon.

This will maximise the time that the planets will be visible after sunset, and allow you to see them when it is darkest.

Since they might be quite faint, it is best to avoid sources of light pollution, such as city lights, and give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness by not using your phone.

If you do have a telescope or pair of binoculars, you can also look for the planets Neptune and Uranus, which are not visible to the naked eye.

'If you're looking for Neptune it will be very close to Saturn, which can help finding it,' says Dr Armstrong.

Uranus, meanwhile, will be higher in the sky and located near the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus.

Dr Armstrong adds: 'You have a pair of binoculars or small telescope try looking at Jupiter and Saturn and seeing if you can spot Jupiter's moons, or Saturn's rings.

'Four of Jupiter's moons can sometimes be seen as bright points of light near the planet.'

However, since these planets will be so low to the horizon shortly after sunset, you must use extreme caution when looking through a telescope.

Even a small glimpse of the setting sun seen through a powerful telescope lens can cause instant, serious eye damage and even blindness.

You should be especially careful if you choose to look for Neptune, which will only be just above the western horizon at sunset and extremely close to the sun.

Do planetary parades cause any effects on Earth?

The sight of several planets grouped together in the sky has long been thought to have astrological and spiritual significance.

But, in reality, this is nothing more than a consequence of the physics of our solar system.

Dr Shyam Balaji, an astronomer at King's College London, told the Daily Mail: 'Planetary alignments have often inspired cultural or astrological interpretations, but scientifically they are predictable geometrical coincidences with no known physical influence.'

Another common myth about planetary parades is that the alignment of the planet somehow 'amplifies' the gravitational pull felt by Earth, leading to natural disasters like floods or earthquakes.

However, although the planets look as if they are near one another, that is only due to our perspective along the ecliptic.

For example, even though Mercury and Venus will be next to each other in the night sky, they are actually 23.3 million miles (37.6 million km) apart at the very closest.

This also means that the 'alignment' of the planets won't trigger any physical consequences for Earth.

'These alignments have no gravitational effects on Earth,' says Dr Balaji.

'Their combined gravitational pull of the planets on Earth is negligible compared to that of the Moon or the Sun.'