Planets | Astronomy.com https://www.astronomy.com/observing/planets-observing/ Astronomy news, photos, observing events, and space missions. Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:31:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.astronomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-favicon-32x32.jpg Planets | Astronomy.com https://www.astronomy.com/observing/planets-observing/ 32 32 Venus and Jupiter dance in the morning sky https://www.astronomy.com/observing/venus-and-jupiter-dance-in-the-morning-sky/ Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:00:43 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=165439// If you head out before sunrise (say, about 5 a.m. local time) and look eastward during the next few days, you’ll see planetary motion in action. Venus, blazing at magnitude –4.0, and Jupiter, no slouch itself shining at magnitude –2.0, are getting closer each day. Tomorrow morning (which is Wednesday, August 6 as I write this), theContinue reading "Venus and Jupiter dance in the morning sky"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mercury in the evening sky https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-mercury-in-the-evening-sky/ Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:56:24 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=164429// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out sometime soon and observe the planet Mercury in the evening. Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, only pokes above the horizon several times each year. And it never gets far from the Sun, meaning it doesn’t get high in the sky. The lastContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mercury in the evening sky"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mars passes the star Regulus https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-mars-passes-the-star-regulus/ Mon, 16 Jun 2025 13:50:50 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=164073// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out on the evening of June 16 to observe a close passage of the star Regulus by Mars. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion and sits at the bottom of that figure’s “backward question mark,” which is the Lion’s head,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mars passes the star Regulus"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus in the Morning Sky https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-venus-in-the-morning-sky-2/ Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:03:24 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=163224// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out before sunrise and face east. There, you’ll spot Venus, sometimes called Earth’s sister planet. You won’t have any trouble finding it because only the Sun and the Moon shine more brightly. In fact, if your location is dark enough, the light from Venus mightContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus in the Morning Sky"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Moon and Venus https://www.astronomy.com/this-week-in-astronomy/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-the-moon-and-venus/ Mon, 19 May 2025 14:08:44 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=162384// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out in the early morning hours of May 22 and observe a close pairing of Venus and the Moon. About once a month these two celestial standouts come near each other, and this would be a nice one to photograph. The Moon will be aContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Moon and Venus"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mars and the Beehive Cluster https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-mars-and-the-beehive-cluster/ Mon, 05 May 2025 14:18:34 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=161645// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out the evening of May 5 to see Mars close to the Beehive Cluster in the constellation Cancer the Crab. In fact, because Mars doesn’t move all that fast, you’ll be able to spot the Red Planet near the open star cluster several days beforeContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Mars and the Beehive Cluster"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus in the Morning Sky https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-venus-in-the-morning-sky/ Mon, 21 Apr 2025 14:19:16 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=161062// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out before sunrise and view brilliant Venus. The planet, which is only outshone by the Sun or the Moon, will lie low in the eastern sky. It will rise and hour or so before the Sun. Even as morning twilight begins to brighten the sky,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus in the Morning Sky"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: A conjunction of planets https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-a-conjunction-of-planets/ Mon, 14 Apr 2025 14:29:30 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=160809// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out and view a close grouping of planets in the early morning hours of April 21. That morning, you’ll be able to see Venus, Mercury, and Saturn low in the east. You won’t need a telescope or binoculars to view them, just use your eyes.Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: A conjunction of planets"

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]]> How you can observe impacts on Jupiter https://www.astronomy.com/observing/impacts-on-jupiter-can-be-impressive-sights/ Thu, 10 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=160068// Lucky is the word I’d use for any telescopic observers who got to see one of the most stunning spectacles in nature when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacted Jupiter in July 1994. The collision left inky scars in the planet’s atmosphere that persisted for months, with the largest welts visible in even the smallest of telescopes.Continue reading "How you can observe impacts on Jupiter"

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]]> This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Planets Align https://www.astronomy.com/observing/this-week-in-astronomy-with-dave-eicher-the-planets-align/ Mon, 17 Mar 2025 14:34:45 +0000 https://www.astronomy.com/?p=159720// In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out soon and look at the planets in the evening sky. The highest is Mars, the so-called Red Planet. The giant planet Jupiter is a bit lower but much brighter. Brightest of all is Venus, low in the west. If you want to see thatContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Planets Align"

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