How to See Planets Tonight: A Beginner’s Guide

Planets usually shine with a steady light, while stars twinkle. Stars are so far away that they are effectively single points, so turbulence in our atmosphere makes them flicker. Planets show a tiny disk, which averages the flicker out. Very close to the horizon, even planets can twinkle.

Planets also sit along a single line across the sky called the ecliptic, the same path the Sun and Moon follow. If a bright point is near the Moon or along the arc the Sun took during the day, it is a good candidate.

Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. Because its orbit is inside Earth’s, it never strays far from the Sun, so you only see it in the west after sunset (the “evening star”) or in the east before sunrise (the “morning star”), never in the middle of the night.

Mercury is closer still to the Sun and harder to catch. Look low on the horizon in twilight during the few weeks when it is farthest from the Sun, and pick a spot with a clear view of the horizon.

The outer planets can appear anywhere along the ecliptic, including high in the sky around midnight. Mars has a distinct orange-red color. Jupiter is very bright and creamy white; with ordinary binoculars held steady you can often see up to four of its largest moons as tiny dots in a line. Saturn looks like a steady, pale yellow star; its rings need a small telescope.

Uranus is at the edge of naked-eye visibility under very dark skies, and Neptune always needs a telescope.

The hour after sunset and the hour before sunrise are often best, because that is when Venus and Mercury can be seen and the sky is dark enough for the brighter planets. Check planet rise and set times for your location first; a planet that set an hour ago will not come back until the next night.

Give your eyes 10 to 15 minutes away from screens and bright lights to adjust. Planets are bright enough to see from most cities, even when fainter stars are washed out.