Stargazers in parts of the U.S. have a fleeting opportunity this month to catch a rare celestial phenomena -- a "parade" of seven planets -- for the last time until the year 2036.
Six of the planets -- Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune -- are already observable lined up above the horizon, although the latter two will require binoculars or a telescope to see.
As the end of February draws near, Mercury will join the lineup, appearing to rise above the horizon in the evening, close to where the sun sets.
The best view -- when the planets will all be visible against a dark sky, for those in a lucky band of latitudes -- will present itself between February 23-26.
After that, however, Saturn will disappear at night as it gets closer to both the horizon and the sun, whose glare will help obscure the gas giant from view.
Planetary parades occur because all the worlds in the solar system follow the same path across the sky from the eastern horizon to the west -- a path astronomers call the ecliptic.
According to calculations by experts at timeanddate.com, the parade will be visible in "dark-sky" conditions (when the sun and its twilight-producing glare are at least six degrees below the horizon) after sunset only for those between 3 degrees south and 42 degrees north.
This band reaches as far north in the U.S. as Chicago, Illinois; New York City, New York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
To spot the parade, first look for Mercury, Saturn and Venus near where the sun sets, then trace an arc east to locate Jupiter and Mars. For those with a telescope, Neptune can be found east of Mercury, and Uranus west of Jupiter.
As with most celestial phenomena, observing the night sky somewhere away from sources of light pollution like cities will afford a better view.
Stargazers would be wise to dress up warmly, in layers, to help fend off the night's chill.
While conjunctions of two planets or even parades of three-four are quite common occurrences, those of six-seven planets are a rare phenomena.
The next time all the other seven planets in the solar system will be visible on parade at once in dark-sky conditions will not be until the year 2036 -- specially, around March 31-April 1.
If you miss that, you'll be waiting even longer for another; the next parade after that, according to reports, will not be until mid-November 2060.