Planets to align in Australian sky

The alignment of the four planets, which happens only once every 50 to 100 years, will occur just before sunrise. (NASA)

Forget the hippie-era song that has Jupiter aligning with Mars and love steering the stars. The fact is, those two orbs get together all the time.

The truly remarkable event - when Jupiter lines up with Venus, Mercury and Mars in the pre-dawn sky - will be visible in Australia's eastern sky on Friday.

The alignment of the four planets, which happens only once every 50 to 100 years, will occur just before sunrise, Sydney Observatory says.

"Every couple of years you get two or three planets that come close together, but to have four is particularly rare," the observatory's education officer, Geoffrey Wyatt, told AAP on Wednesday.

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