From your WhatsApp messages to your work emails, it can sometimes feel like emoji are everywhere you look.
But tonight, a rare astronomical display will take this to new levels – as an extraterrestrial emojii forms in the night sky.
In the early hours of the morning, a rare ‘smiley face’ conjunction will line up just above the horizon.
Experts say this alignment of Venus, Saturn, and the thin crescent moon will bear a striking resemblance to a smiling face turned on its side.
The good news is that you won’t need a telescope to see this spectacular celestial display – you’ll just need to make an early start.
The conjunction should slide into place from 05:00 BST and remain visible until just before the sun rises at 05:45 BST.
Jess Lee, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: ‘You can see this just with your eyes and without any special equipment, but you’ll need to be awake at 5 am and have a clear view of the east.
‘You’ll need to turn your head sideways and really squint, but then you might be able to see the two planets as the eyes and the moon as the mouth of the face.’
Stargazers will be in for a rare treat as a ‘smiley face’ conjunction (pictured) rises in the sky tonight
Tonight’s smiley face is not a unique type of event, but rather a type of planetary alignment called a conjunction.
As the planets orbit the sun, from our perspective there are times when they seem to come very close together although, in reality, they are still millions of miles apart.
On some occasions, two or more planets move closer to the moon in an event which astronomers call ‘massing’.
For all of next week, both Venus and Saturn will be low on the horizon in the mornings, placing them close to the path of the rising moon.
Venus will be especially bright, rising at around 05:00 BST and remaining visible until around 06:00 BST.
The moon, having been full on April 13, is now waning – growing smaller – towards the new moon on April 27 which will leave a very thin crescent visible tonight.
Saturn is also visible but will be fainter and later rising, staying closer to the horizon.
In order to see this rare alignment all you need to do is look towards the East early in the morning.
The ‘smile’ will be formed by the alignment of Venus, Saturn, and the crescent moon. When these three bodies align it will look like a smiling face tilted onto its side
The conjunction will be very low on the horizon before dawn so be careful not to look into the sun as it rises shortly afterwards
Find a spot that gives you a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon free of any trees or buildings that might block your view.
Starting from about 05:00 am, you will then need to wait and watch as the conjunction slowly rises over the next half an hour.
Ms Lee says: ‘On the morning of the 25th of April, in the eastern sky just before sunrise you’ll be able to see a thin crescent Moon. Above the Moon, Venus will be bright and easily visible.
‘Below Venus on the other side of the crescent moon Saturn will technically be visible.
‘However, Saturn rises just before the Sun and the sky will be brightening by the minute. Saturn will be faint and hard to see, so it will be a challenge to spot but give it a go!’
Since Saturn will be low to the horizon close to dawn, you also need to be careful not to look directly at the sun as it rises.
For this reason, it is recommended that you do not use binoculars or a telescope to try and look at the planets since this could magnify the sun’s light and cause serious eye damage.
Unfortunately for many British stargazers, the weather forecast for early tomorrow morning does not look particularly promising.
After becoming full on the night of April 12 and 13, the moon is now waning towards the new moon on April 27. This will leave only a very thin crescent visible tonight
To see the smiley face simply look towards the eastern horizon from 5:00 tomorrow morning. The bright light of Venus will be visible above the crescent moon with Saturn shining more faintly below. Pictured: A rotated image of a smiley face alignment taken from Hong Kong in 2008
Unfortunately for British stargazers, the weather will not be ideal as clouds (left) and rain (right) will cover large parts of the country according to the Met Office
The Met Office forecasts cloud cover over large parts of the UK with a few breaks over parts of the Southeast, Southwest, and southern parts of Scotland.
Keen skywatchers in Northern Ireland will fare particularly poorly as heavy rain is forecast over the entire region.
If you happen to miss out on tonight’s display, there’s no reason to be disappointed.
Ms Lee says: ‘The planets pass through the same area of sky where we see the Moon, and so it won’t be rare for Saturn or Venus to be near the moon – however how often we can interpret them as smiley faces, I think depends on individual imaginations.’
There will be another great opportunity to see the conjunction of Saturn and Venus on April 28.
From 20:00 BST, the planets will come very close to each other within the constellation of Pisces.
Since this conjunction is after sunset you will also be able to safely use binoculars or a telescope to get a better view.
