Don't own a telescope or pair of binoculars? Don't fret. The astronomical show set to take over the August sky will be "the people's planetary parade" - visible to the naked eye whether you have fancy gear or not.
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Starring in the rare celestial line-up will be five of the solar system's eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter.
The orbit of each will put them on the same side of the sun, making all five visible to the naked eye when looking at the western sky throughout August.
"You won't need equipment," said Swinburne University astronomer Alan Duffy. "You'll just have to be lucky enough to get a decent view of the night sky."
The best time to view the planetary parade will be either side of the full moon on August 18, in order to avoid the moon's radiating light.
Those in Melbourne and Sydney should look to a western horizon clear of buildings and trees shortly after 7pm.
"The challenge with this event is to get the timing right to ensure the sunset has faded as much as possible but not wait so long that Venus or Mercury have raced below the horizon," Dr Duffy said.
He said even to the untrained eye the planets would be easily identified as, unlike stars, they won't twinkle and will have a bit more colour to them.
Mars will display its signature red tones while Jupiter's glow will be more of a golden white and Venus will be a brilliant crisp white hue. Mercury however will be the challenge to spot. Located closer to the horizon where there is more light, Mercury is also not as bright as the other planets.
"I think the best chance will be on the 21st as the moon isn't interfering and the planets are further away from the sun," he said.
For those closer to the equator there will be more time to view the planets, which will be more vertically aligned, before they drop below the horizon. Stargazers in Europe or North America, meanwhile, will have to wait until sunset around 9pm.
The next time such a planetary alignment will take place will be October 2018.
"It's remarkable that these planets vary enormously in size and distance from us and yet they all appear remarkably similar hanging in the night sky," Dr Duffy said. "It's also a reminder that they are constantly on the move, as are we, in a dynamic ever-changing solar system."
