Two things happened in 2005. The Houston Astros made the playoffs and Earthlings were able to see - with the naked-eye - five planets lined up. The Astros fixed the playoff problem in 2015 and the planets are making it up to us now. For the first time in a decade, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter will all appear in the sky. The viewing window began on Wednesday, but you still have until Feb. 20 to behold the sight. As HNGN pointed out in an earlier article, "as the days go by and the collection gets higher in the sky each morning, the visibility of the planets will increase."

"Look during the last few days of January and first week of February to have your best chance for success," Sky & Telescope's senior editor, Alan MacRobert suggested, as Mercury will be a bit harder to see during the bookend dates. The waning moon will give your cosmo-watching a boost as it nears Jupiter on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, Mars on Feb. 1, Saturn on Feb. 3, Venus on Feb. 5 and Mercury on Feb. 6.

For the best view, set your alarm and look up about 45 minutes before sunrise, according to a press release from Sky & Telescope. You need to find the sweet spot for Mercury - when the planet is neither too low nor the daylight light too bright. "Find a location with a clear, unobstructed view toward southeast, in the general direction of sunrise, and locate brilliant Venus fairly low above the horizon," the astronomy magazine advised. "Venus is brighter than any other planet or star - you can't miss it."

Once you spy Venus with your little eye, swing your gaze to the lower left. Hold your arm out, clench your fist and aim just to the left of Venus - you should see the smallest of the eight planets (sorry, Pluto). Rocky Mercury will appear brighter and closer to Venus every morning.

For the other three planets, take your pretty peepers to the upper right area past Venus. Saturn will be less visible than Venus, followed by the orange star Antares. (Binoculars will help you see Saturn more easily, but its rings will only be visible with a telescope.) As you orientate yourself due south, Mars should be your next, slightly brighter, sight. Following along, Spica, a bright binary star in the constellation Virgo, will lead you southwest to the brilliant, gassy planet, Jupiter.

One important distinction, according to Sky & Telescope: "...this predawn grouping of planets is not an 'alignment' - they are not lined up outward from the sun. Instead, they are simply positioned in their orbits such that we see them in one portion of the sky."

The planets' distances from Earth will be:

Mercury - 0.89 a.u. - 82 million miles

Venus - 1.35 a.u. - 125 million miles

Mars - 1.37 a.u. - 128 million miles

Jupiter - 4.64 a.u. - 431 million miles

Saturn - 10.51 a.u. - 977 million miles

But wait! There's more!

Comet Catalina, formally known as C/2013 US10 (Catalina), is ready for its close up, according to NASA. The "giant snowball from the outer solar system" will pass a safe 67 million miles away from Earth, but NASA promises a spectacular sight. Bring your binoculars to insure you don't miss it, suggested EarthSky.