Six planets are forming a giant arc in night skies over Kamloops and the Okanagan in a rare astronomical event, but viewers will need clear skies and a pair of binoculars to spot all of them.

Known as a Parade of Planets, the planets Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune and Saturn began appearing in a row on Jan. 10 and the show will continue into March.

Compared to the last planet parade in June, 2024 where two planets were visible to the naked eye, this event has more visible planets and is occurring during winter months when the atmosphere is clearer, according to the Old Farmers Almanac.

“Mars, Jupiter and Venus are very bright. Saturn can be seen with the naked eye but it’s not especially bright and is visible near Venus in the western sky just before sunset,” Chris Gainor with the Royal Astronomical Society in the Okanagan.

“Mars is fairly close to Earth right now and it does have a reddish colour. It’s bright and high in in the sky, not too far from Jupiter, which is brighter. You need a telescope to see Neptune and Uranus,” Gainor said.

In mid-February, Saturn will become the first planet to disappear from view while Mercury will make its first appearance shortly after.

Neptune disappears in early March, and Mercury and Venus drop out of view in mid-March.

Uranus leaves the parade in April, Jupiter at the end of May and Mars sticks around until early August.

The best advice is to find a spot away from city light pollution, look to the south and scan the sky from east to west to find the planets.

“There are often situations when more than one planet is visible in the sky,” Gainor said. “Having this many planets visible in the same sky doesn’t happen as often.”

Overnight cloudy skies are in the forecast for at least the next week. The clearest night for viewing in Kamloops is tonight, Monday, Jan. 28, while the clearest nights in the Okanagan are Monday and Tuesday.

If you get awesome planet parade photos, please sent them to news@infonews.ca.