WASHINGTON -- Stargazers will have a special chance to see seven planets align in the night sky this week as Mercury joins Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in a planetary parade.

In January, six planets appeared to line up in the night sky at once, commonly referred to as a planetary parade. The astronomical linkup is fairly common and can happen at least every year depending on the number of planets. A similar parade took place last June, but only two planets could be seen without any special equipment.

Between Feb. 23 and Feb 28., most of the planets will be visible to the naked eye at once after sunset. The celestial event lines up with a new moon, giving the planets a clear and dark canvas to showcase themselves.

Only Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars will be visible with the naked eye, according to StarWalk. To see the full "planet parade," you'll need some binoculars or a telescope.

Saturn will be the most difficult planet to spot due to its low position -- appearing less than 10 degrees above the horizon. It will have the shortest observation window, according to StarWalk.

According to NASA, the best time to observe is around sunset.

While the event will occur between Feb. 23 and Feb. 28, the best viewing day for the U.S. will be between Monday and Tuesday.

While planet parades don't occur every day, they're not ultra rare, NASA says.

The lineup of four or five planets, that are visible to the naked eye, occurs every few years. In late August, four planets will be visible at once before sunrise.