STARGAZERS are in for a a treat on Friday night as seven planets will briefly align in the night sky.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have aligned in a rare event known as a 'planetary parade'.

The alignment won't be repeated until 2040.

A planetary parade is a moment when multiple planets are visible in the sky at the same time.

The best time to view the alignment is around 6.30pm tonight (Friday), just after sunset.

The Met Office forecast says skies will be clear around that time in the Aberystwyth area.

Those venturing out to try and catch a glimpse of the planetary alignment are advised to get away from light pollution in built up areas.

Both Eryri and the Cambrian Mountains provide spectacular dark skies, making it easier to spot the planets.

The above image was captured earlier this week by Josh Dury who said: "I managed to capture a panorama image of the seven planets, AKA - the planetary parade.

"It is made of nine images, revealing Saturn, Mercury and Neptune. However, they were very tricky to spot. I used multiple image analysis and astronomy apps to confirm their location.

"As this was taken with a wide-angle lens, the nine images stitched to a panorama and a HDR blend of one of the frames to reveal Saturn, Neptune and Mercury. These three planets not easy to see at all."

The last planetary alignment was 1982 but at the time cameras didn't have the ability to capture all of them.

Phone apps such as Night Sky can help you identify what you are seeing in the night sky.

There is also an outside chance of the Northern Lights making an appearance.

The Met Office says: "Fast solar winds from a coronal hole have recently given minor geomagnetic storms.

"The fast winds are likely to continue for the next few days, with a gradually declining risk of further minor storming.

"As such, aurora could be visible from Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes, with the auroral oval retreating northwards during the next few days."