Rare 'planetary parade' will return to the evening sky this week

An illustration of the planets in our solar system lined up against a blue starry background, with Venus then Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus — An illustration of solar system planets aligning. A "planet parade" will take place in February. (Image credit: DrPixel via Getty Images)

A planetary parade is about to bring six of Earth's neighbors into the night sky at once — but it won't be easy to see.

If you can find an unobstructed view due west and clear skies on Saturday, Feb. 28, you may see the two inner planets, Venus and Mercury, close to Saturn, with Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter also in the night sky, according to NASA.

Neptune will be right next to Saturn, but a 6-inch (15 centimeters) skywatching telescope will be required to get a good view of Neptune (and, in twilight, even that's unlikely). These four planets will be in the sky about half an hour after sunset and remain so for around 45 minutes.

Once you've observed Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune, look high in the south for Jupiter in the constellation Gemini. It will shine very brightly, so it should be easy to find. The three stars of Orion's Belt will be roughly halfway between the other four planets and Jupiter. The giant planet will also appear as a steady, whitish light that doesn't twinkle as stars do.

Uranus, the Pleiades and a total lunar eclipse

The seventh planet, Uranus, will also be in the night sky, but it will be best seen with binoculars or a small telescope. To find it, use Orion's Belt again, following its three stars — Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka — upward, until you get to the shimmering sight of the Pleiades open cluster (also called "The Seven Sisters" or M45). Uranus will be just below the Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus.