When we have five or more planets filing into a small sky area, an alignment is upgraded to parade status. Parade is not an official astronomical term and is used fast, loose and with a touch more whimsy than space experts usually allow for.

UK skywatchers will have one last chance to view a rare alignment of seven planets in 2025. Later this week seven planets will align in the night sky for the last time until 2040. While six planets - Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - have been visible since January on Friday, February 28, Mercury will join the planetary alignment.

Prepare for an unforgettable 'parade of planets' as 7 planets will align in a rare celestial event on Feb. 28, for the last time in a decade. Some will be visible to the naked eye, while others may require a closer look through a telescope.