Seven planets will line up in 'parade' on Friday

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Seven planets are expected to be seen in the Earth's night sky on Friday, astronomers said.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will be visible from Earth with the naked eye. Experts said, however, you will still need a good telescope to get a good look at the so-called planetary parade.

A webcast hosted by the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy will help skywatchers and the curious find their favorite planets in the sky. Astrophysicist Gianluca Masi will host the live stream at noon EDT.

"Such a parade happens from time to time, and we wish to share this event with our friends around the world," Masi said.

Such an alignment happens when the planets orbit the sun on a relatively flat, disk-shaped plane. While the lineup is not unusual, it is rare for all seven planets to line up at once and won't happen again until 2040.

For much of the week, all of the planets may be visible except for Mercury, according to NASA.

The moon has made its presence in the dotting of planets along the sky and will do so again on Friday.

"So, when multiple planets are visible in the sky, they'll location will be roughly along this line," said Iain Todd. "And this is one of the ways of telling the difference between a planet and a star. It's also why so-called 'planetary alignments' are really an inevitability. But it doesn't make them any less special to see for yourself."