One lucky East Lancashire stargazer caught a glimpse of the rare celestial phenomenon - the planetary alignment.
Jon Cudworth, from Bacup, was lucky enough to capture the event and saw Jupiter and Mars along Orion’s Belt.
His photos, which show a stunning night over the town, also give a glimpse at our nearest neighbours, Mars, and Jupiter.
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all currently visible in the night sky to the naked eye, whilst Uranus and Neptune can also be seen with the help of a telescope.
In the images provided Mars and Jupiter can be seen as a bright white point of light.
The eight planets of our Solar System all orbit the sun in the same flat plane, but all at different speeds – making the planetary alignment particularly rare.
Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, completes an orbit in just 88 Earth days while Neptune takes 60,190 days or 165 Earth years to complete a single journey around the star.
This differentiation in speed means that several of them can roughly line up on the same side of the Sun on rare occasions.
Whilst not visible on this occasion, viewers from Earth will be able to see multiple planets line up at the same time and in rare events they will appear across the sky along the ecliptic – the path traced by the sun.
Throughout the rest of the month and February, the planets will appear in an arc across the sky, thanks to the orbital plane in the Solar System.
Mercury is the only planet that won’t be visible in the event, however, on February 28, weather permitting, it may be visible alongside all seven other planets.
Read more: Stargazers' dark skies festival returns to Lancashire forest
Read more: All Dark Sky Discovery Sites in East Lancashire for when planets align
For those keen to catch a glimpse there are two designated Dark Sky Discovery Sites in East Lancashire, in Slaidburn and Gisburn Forest as well as a further two in the Forest of Bowland, at Beacon Fell Country Park and Crook O’Lune Picnic Site.
Dark Sky Discovery Sites are recognised by the Dark Sky Discovery Partnership and managed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh.
They refer to places within the UK that are both dark and easily accessible, and where it is possible to observe the spectacle of the Milky Way or the constellations.
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