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.

Alignments of five or more planets are rare—there will be two more featuring five or more planets this year, but after that the next won’t happen until 2040.

Since the middle of the month, four of the five brightest planets in the night sky have been visible after sunset and will continue to "line up" through the end of the month. The best chance to see these four planets and the two hiding in the dark (Neptune and Uranus) will occur around the 21st and 22nd in the southern sky after sunset,

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.

Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn can be spotted without special equipment, with Uranus and Neptune requiring a telescope.

On January 21, a rare celestial event will take place as six planets, namely Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, will align in the night sky. The alignment will be visible from nearly all parts of the world.

Venus and Saturn will glow in the southwestern sky, with Jupiter in the southern sky and Mars in the southeast or east. The planets will shine brighter than the stars, and Mars wi

Six planets will be in alignment this weekend, with four of them shining bright in one sweeping view. What to know about the planet parade.