For the first time in 18 years, 5 planets and the Moon will line up in the sky

During June, skywatchers had the pleasure of watching all five planets that we can see with the naked eye-Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn-line up in the sky. And this weekend the crescent moon will join them. 

It is impressive that currently the planets appear in order of distance from the Sun, from left to right as the horizon is scanned: that is, starting with Mercury (on average 58 million kilometers or 36 million miles from the Sun) and ending with Saturn (on average 1.4 billion kilometers or 886 million miles from the Sun).

On the weekend, a waning crescent moon should appear between Venus and Mars (you can even assume that it replaces the Earth).

Mercury will be clearly visible on June 27, which will make it easier for you to detect it if you move to the right along the horizon. This morning, the planetary show will be visible for about an hour.

This type of alignment of the planets - known as a conjunction - has not happened since December 2004 and will not happen again until 2040.

The spectacle will be visible on the eastern horizon just before sunrise, which will obscure the view. In the Northern Hemisphere, look east and south; in the Southern Hemisphere, look east and north.

The best thing is that all this is visible to the naked eye, although, of course, you can look closer with binoculars or a telescope.

This connection has been preparing for a long time: you may remember that Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter lined up in the sky in April. Of course, it's all a trick of the eye - but it's an amazing sight to watch.

These events and the visibility of the planets may differ in dates depending on where you are in the world. However, everyone will have enough opportunities to see the five planets, even if a few cloudy days fall out.