Five planets along with the moon will be visible in almost an arc on the night sky this evening in a rare event known as a large planetary alignment.
A planetary alignment is an astronomical term and it means that multiple planets will gather at the same side of the sun at the same time.
Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will be visible together shortly after sunset, around 19:30.
A true 5 planet alignment happened in June last year when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn stretched across the sky for the first time in nearly eighteen years, the last time being in December 2004.
The next time the planets are set to be aligned is not until 2040.
Venus and Jupiter will be easy to spot without any binoculars or telescope however seeing Mercury, Uranus, and Mars may prove to be a little more difficult.
Uranus will appear alongside Venus but depending on where you are in Swindon the light pollution may make it difficult to catch a glimpse of the planet.
Mercury will appear below Venus and Uranus, alongside Jupiter and will be visible for a short while just after sunset.
If you are using binoculars or a small telescope, you should be able to see Mars and its orange tint directly above Venus and Uranus.
