A handful of planets in the solar system are expected to line up in the night sky for a few days in January 2025. Here's when to look up at the stars.

Skywatchers: A six-planet alignment peaks this week as Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn come together for view shortly after sunset in the sky.

Mars will be making its closest approach to Earth in two years, and thus, the mighty red planet, named for the god of war himself, will appear brighter, bigger, and bolder in the night sky. This Martian exclamation point will further amplify the experience of the alignment.

January started out with a meteor shower and now has a planetary alignment in store. Here's what you'll be able to see and when to catch the event.

This month, six planets align in a rare celestial event, with Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars visible to the naked eye, according to NASA’s Preston Dyches. Venus and Saturn will appear closest on January 19-20, while Jupiter shines brightly in the south, and Mars glows reddish in the east.

Six planets will be visible together in a rare 'planet parade' starting Jan. 21 The stars and planets are really aligning in January. Skygazers and astronomy enthusiasts can look forward to catching a rare "planet parade" in the night sky through January.

A planetary alignment occurs when several planets gather on one side of the Sun, appearing to form a line from our perspective on Earth. While the alignment is not a perfectly straight line due to the varying speeds and distances of the planets' orbits,