How do you see what stars and planets are?

Answer

Dear Enya,

Good question! The word planet literally means ‘wanderer’. Planets used to be called this because they appeared to move relative to the other stars. A planet that is one evening to the left of eg. the star Aldebaran may be on the right a week later. Of course, the planets do not move criss-cross between the stars, but little by little. That can help you to recognize a planet as such: if it is in a different place among the stars for several nights in a row.

An easier remedy is to pay attention to the clarity (and the color). Venus, and also Jupiter and Mars are often remarkably bright in the sky. And Mars appears to have a red color.

The position is also important: the planets are always in the constellations of the zodiac (Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn, Libra, etc.). You will never see planets in the Big or Little Dipper, or in Orion.

Only five planets from our solar system can be seen with the naked eye (besides Earth of course) Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The former and latter are usually not so easy to see. Saturn is often quite dim, and Mercury is usually too close to the sun to be seen clearly. You will also always find Venus relatively close to the sun: you will either see it in the east in the morning or in the west in the evening. But the planets can also not be seen at all, e.g. because they are on the opposite side of the sun. You notice: it is quite complicated, but there are still a number of things to pay attention to: position, brightness and (for Mars) the color.

The easiest way, however, is to use a plan that shows you where and when which plants are visible. You can find such plans eg. once a month in a number of newspapers, in popular science magazines such as e.g. Eos, or on the internet (although I don’t find one that quickly).

Happy Planetary Fun!