If you look at the stars on Friday, you might see a smiley face looking back at you.
The moon, Venus and Saturn are expected to briefly align into a formation during the early hours of Friday morning, creating a rare smiley face in the sky.
“Between April 24 and 25, find Venus, Saturn, and the crescent moon gathered low in the east as dawn warms the morning sky,” NASA wrote in a statement shared on X. “Mercury is also visible below them for those with a clear view to the horizon.”
Venus will represent the higher of the smiley’s two eyes, Saturn will be the second, lower eye, and the crescent moon will serve as the smile, reports the Independent.
The rare smiley in the sky will be visible around the globe and anybody with a good view of the eastern horizon should be able to see it, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Brenda Culbertson told Fox Weather.
“Anyone wanting to try for a glimpse of the conjunction should find a clear eastern horizon from which to observe,” Culbertson told KSNT Kansas. “No special equipment is needed.”
The celestial image could be spoiled by a dull Saturn, which might lack the brightness needed to tie the smiley together, reports the BBC Sky at Night Magazine. But a bright Venus and the moon will certainly be visible during the early hours of Friday morning if you have a good view of the eastern horizon.
If you miss out on the cosmic smiley, another celestial event will follow on its heels — the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which peaks annually between May 5 and May 6, per NASA. The Eta Aquarids are known for their speed and viewable from after dark until dawn.
“Eta Aquarid meteors are known for their speed, with the meteors traveling at about 40.7 miles per second into Earth’s atmosphere,” reports NASA. “Fast meteors can leave glowing “trains” (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes."