Planets visible tonight
Five planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, are visible to the naked eye, and on most nights at least one or two of them are up at some point. The list below shows which planets are visible tonight from your location, when to look and in which direction.
Planets tonight
Working out which planets are up tonight…
The bright planets month by month
When each naked-eye planet can be seen in mid-month from the middle of the US. Open a planet for times, brightness and direction.
| Month | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2026 | — | Morning | Morning | Morning | Evening |
| Dec 2026 | — | Morning | Morning | Morning | Evening |
| Jan 2027 | — | Morning | Morning | All night | Evening |
| Feb 2027 | — | Morning | All night | All night | Evening |
| Mar 2027 | — | — | All night | All night | — |
| Apr 2027 | — | — | Evening | Evening | — |
| May 2027 | — | — | Evening | Evening | — |
| Jun 2027 | — | — | Evening | Evening | Morning |
| Jul 2027 | — | — | Evening | — | Morning |
| Aug 2027 | — | — | Evening | — | Morning |
| Sep 2027 | — | — | Evening | — | All night |
| Oct 2027 | — | — | — | Morning | All night |
| Nov 2027 | — | — | — | Morning | All night |
| Dec 2027 | — | Evening | — | Morning | Evening |
Uranus and Neptune need binoculars or a telescope: Uranus, Neptune.
How to find the planets
All the planets travel along the ecliptic, the path the Sun follows through the zodiac constellations over a year. Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina points out that this is the first clue: a bright “star” near the line the Sun and Moon travel is a good planet candidate. In the evening, the ecliptic arcs from the west, where the Sun has set, across the southern sky to the east.
Where each planet appears depends on its position relative to the Sun. NASA notes that Mercury and Venus orbit inside Earth’s orbit, so they are only seen near sunrise or sunset, never at midnight. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be up at any hour of the night, depending on the time of year, and they are best around opposition, when they are opposite the Sun, up all night and at their brightest. The month-by-month tables on each planet’s page show when it is in the evening sky, the morning sky or lost in the Sun’s glare.
To judge where to look, use your hand. NASA’s skywatching FAQ says that at arm’s length, a little finger covers about 1 degree of sky, three middle fingers about 5 degrees and a fist about 10 degrees. If a planet is listed 20 degrees above the southeast horizon, that is two fists up.
Telling planets from stars
Three things give a planet away. First, brightness: Morehead Planetarium notes that the naked-eye planets tend to be bright, sometimes brighter than the brightest stars, and Venus and Jupiter outshine every star in the sky. Second, steadiness: planets usually shine without twinkling. James Lattis of the University of Wisconsin–Madison explains that a star is a single point, so its light is easily jostled by turbulent air, while a planet shows a tiny disk whose light averages out. Near the horizon, though, planets can twinkle too. Third, movement: over days and weeks, planets drift against the background stars.
Uranus and Neptune are the exceptions. The British Astronomical Association says Uranus is barely visible to the naked eye under dark skies and Neptune needs binoculars at minimum. Both look like faint stars and are found with a chart.
Our guide to finding planets goes through each step in more detail, and the tonight page shows the planets for your city.
Questions and answers
What is the bright star in the west after sunset?
Very often it is Venus, or sometimes Jupiter. If it is the brightest point in the sky and shines steadily low in twilight, Venus is the most likely answer.
Do I need a telescope to see planets?
No. Five planets are easy to see with the naked eye. Binoculars show Jupiter's moons, and a small telescope shows Saturn's rings and Venus's phases.
What is a planetary alignment?
The phrase usually means several planets visible in the same part of the sky at once. They always lie along the ecliptic, so they can look lined up, but they are not physically in a straight line in space.
Why can't I see a planet that the table says is up?
It may be low behind trees or buildings, lost in twilight glare, or simply fainter than you expected. Uranus and Neptune need binoculars and a chart.
Sources
- Skywatching FAQ, NASA
- Skywatching at Home: Spot Planets in the Sky Tonight, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center (UNC)
- Curiosities: Why do stars appear to twinkle in the night sky?, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Observer's challenge: The Ice Giants, British Astronomical Association