If you love to look for planets glimmering in the night sky, this is a perfect time to do it.
A so-called "planet parade," when multiple planets appear in the night sky at the same time, is underway and will march across the sky into the new year.
In December and January, six planets - Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus - as well as three dwarf planets will share the night sky, though not all will be visible to the naked eye.
Jim Todd, director of space science education for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, said only Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will be easily visible by the naked eye. The other planets will require large telescopes to see.
Saturn drifts off into the sunset around mid-February, but Mercury will join the parade starting in March, keeping the six-planet parade going a little longer. While technically visible, Mercury is very difficult to spot, Todd said, hanging close to the horizon.
Mercury, Neptune and Venus will all fall away in March, while Uranus will stick around until April, and Jupiter will remain in the night sky through the end of May. Mars will hang around a lot longer, remaining a nightly fixture until early August.
Planet parades have become buzzy events in the media, sometimes accompanied by erroneous images of planets perfectly aligned in a straight line across the sky. Todd said different calculations and different interpretations of data can lead to slightly different stories about the planetary motions, creating confusion about details of the events.
And just like a "supermoon," a "planet parade" is not a scientific term, meaning there's no strict definition for it. Todd said a "parade" happens just about every year, varying in size. Each event could include two to eight planets, he said.