For the next few weeks, stargazers will be in for a treat because they can spot all the planets in our solar system except Mercury after sundown. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye from now until late February. If you have a telescope or binoculars, you can also catch a glimpse of Uranus and Neptune, the most distant planets.

This is a rare planetary alignment in the sky. The planets always orbit in roughly the same plane around the Sun, but seeing them all together at once is not common. All six of the visible planets—Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—will appear in the same sky at once, NASA says. In late February, Mercury will be added to this line-up as the last planet, making all seven of the visible ones visible together.

However, don't expect a perfect line-up in the sky. The planets will appear in an arc, not a straight line. This event isn't a true "alignment" as we might imagine. The planets orbit the Sun at different speeds, with Earth completing its orbit in 365 days and Mercury taking only 88 days. It is an unusual time since all these planets are on the same side of the Sun and visible in our sky at the same time.

So, get a pair of binoculars or go out after sunset to witness this spectacular cosmic event. It's a rare chance to gaze at our solar system in all its glory.