Stargazers across the country have their telescopes at the ready to capture a rare planetary event next month (February).

Astronomers at Northumberland’s Kielder Observatory say that while most people are preparing to see a planetary parade of six planets tomorrow (Saturday), an even rarer occurrence will take place in February when Mercury also moves into sight, an event which wont happen again for hundreds of years.

Dan Pye, Director of Astronomy and Science Communication at the observatory, which is based under some of the darkest skies in Europe, said:

“The six planets – Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - will be best viewed from January 25, but during just one night in February, Mercury will join the parade, meaning we’ll have a rare seven planet alignment.

the six planets captured at Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland, by Dan Monk, Director of Astrophotography at Kielder Observatory

“The planets are all tens to hundreds of millions of miles away from each other but from the 25th they will be the physically closest in the sky as viewed from earth. While most will be able to be viewed with the naked eye, the most distant two, Neptune and Uranus, will only all be seen with a telescope.

“Weather permitting, from Feb 25th, all seven planets will be able to be viewed as an arc across the sky, due to their position within the orbital plane of the Solar System – a sight we won’t be able to see again for perhaps a few hundred years!”

Astronomers gear up for rare planetary parade