Which planets can one see from Earth with the naked eye?

Question

And do they look like planets as such or just like stars but a bit bigger maybe? And can they only be seen at night like stars or can they be seen during the day like the moon?

Answer 1

Mercury, Venus Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are easily seen at variious times of night by the naked eye.

Venus is the usual morning/evening star and rises in the east then sets in the east (over time of course and once set in the east it then rises in the west and sets in the west and goes over the years through this cycle (With its brightness it is easily seen in the morning or evening sky) Mercury follows a similar path but it travels much faster (only 88 days to orbit the sun) and does not get as high in the sky either in the morning or the evening because of its closeness to the sun and its not as bright as Venus so not as evident, but it is not hard to find if you look in the right place (an ephemeris is always useful for this)

Mars' brightness varies with its distance from the earth but when ithe two planets are on close approach (approximately once every 2 years or so) Mars is a very bright red (hence its name ... after the god of war ... blood red). Do not confuse Mars (Ares to the Greeks with Antares in Scorpio .. they were acttually near each other in the sky a few years ago and Antares is a bright red star)

Jupiter and Satrun are both very bright owing to their size despite their distance from us and can be easily found in the sky when you are aware of their approximate whereabouts. Even cheap and simple telescopes can resolve the 4 Gallilean moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.

Answer 2

Right, there are 5 planets one can see with the naked eye namely: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Mercury.
Most of the time when Venus shows, it's the brightest object in the sky. It can be in the morning or evening. For 8,5 months it's known as the Morning Star, then it disappears behind the sun for about a month to re-appear as the Evening Star, again for another 8,5 months.
Mercury on the other hand you can only see either at dusk or dawn, mostly after consulting a visibility table. The reason for this is because it's the closest planet to the sun.
With the untrained eye all planets will look just like stars, but if you use even the simplest binoculars, you'll see that planets don't have the same twinkle in them as the stars. That's because planets reflect the suns light, where as stars emit their own light.
Since the planets are in orbit around the sun - like the earth - they appear sometimes bigger and sometimes smaller because their orbits differ from earth's.
Whenever Venus is shining though it 's the brightest object in the sky, so bright that you can see it most of the time when the sky is lit up at dusk or dawn. During daytime it's invisible though.

Under ideal conditions a sixth planet, Uranus, can also be seen with the naked eye - but definitely by using binoculars. To find it however, one has to know the Zodiac constellations very well, since it will be the star that "doesn't belong to the constellation". Alternatively you can consult a visibility table.

Hope it helps

Answer 3

There are 5 visible planets, as others have already listed (Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn).

FINDING THE GENERAL LOCATION OF THE PLANETS
When the Earth is pointed towards the planets and it's dark enough, these planets are always visible in the path that the sun took across the sky that day. The sun "traces" a path across the sky --- a higher path in summer and a lower path in winter. The planets trail along this same path, with no more variation than about the width of your hand at arm's length. (So, go outside and take your arm and trace a path from the East where the sun rose today to the West, to the point where it set. This arc across the sky is EXACTLY where the planets will be found, if we happen to be facing them (and it's dark enough to see them).)

CAN PLANETS BE SEEN DURING THE DAY?
It is possible to see the planets at dusk, just as it starts to get a little dark. That's because the five visible planets are really bright. Mercury and Venus will always be right close to the sun, btw. It is generally not possible to see the planets during normal daylight hours. The sun is way, way too bright and washes them out. When you see the planets at night, you'll generally find them to be slightly bigger than most stars (but this is not a great indicator) and they don't twinkle as much (and this is also not a great indicator). In general, planets look just like stars.

FIND THE LOCATION OF THE PLANETS ANY DATE OR TIME
To find the EXACT location of the planets on any given date or any given time, go to www.heavens-above.com. Put in your current location (nearest town) and time of day, and this site will give you the location of the planets. (As a note, it will also give you the location of the planets on your birthday, or any other date, just so you can see what was happening heaven-wards when you were born.) Pretty cool, huh?

PLANETS AT THIS MOMENT, SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 10:30 PM
I've just checked www.heavens-above at right now, at 10:30 pm in the South of England, Venus and Mars are very close together, setting in the West, very near the horizon. Jupiter and Mercury are also very very close together, slightly more southerly in the sky. They'll be setting soon as well.

Answer 4

I've seen Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. You can even see Venus in the daytime because it is so bright. It is very hard to see it. But, if you know where to look and use you peripheral vision you can see it. Using my telescope I have seen Venus early in the morning and kept tracking it well after sunrise. Of course with a blue sky it doesn't look to stunning but just being able to see it in daylight I found exciting. The planets only appear as points of light to the naked eye. If you have binoculars you can just make out a disk. A small 60mm telescope will reveal the rings of Saturn, the cloud bands of Jupiter, The crescent of Venus, and the ice caps of Mars. You can also see the moons of Jupiter as points of light that orbit Jupiter and change position nightly. Also, you can see Titan as a point of light orbiting Saturn. If you are in dark skies far from city lights and with no moon you will be able to see the milky way (our galaxy) and the Andromeda galaxy.

Answer 5

From Earth you can see 5 planets with the naked eye, namely Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. As they are seen by reflective light they do appear similar to stars.


Venus can sometimes be seen in the early morning, thus reference to it as the Morning Star. I believe the others are only visible after sunset.

Answer 6

You can see a number of planets with the naked eye but you wouldnt know hwich was a planet and what was a star ,you have to look for the twinkle ,that tells you its a star,planets dont twinkle.they can only be seen at night ,with maybe the exception of venus ,which is often nown as the morning star.

Answer 7

At certain points in their orbit Venus, Mars, and Jupiter can be seen with the naked eye at night. They do look similar to other stars. A good place to visit if you want to know when and where in the sky you can see them is www.space.com. They have weekly features that tell you stuff like this.

Answer 8

venus..the evening or morning star depending. jupiter, mars and saturn if you know where to look. planets don't twinkle. they are a reflected light from the sun similar to the moon. other than venus none can be seen at any time of the day.

Answer 9

Two most prominent are Venus, the biggest and brightest and Mars which looks red. This is the best time of the year to see them. Stars (suns) twinkle, planets don't.

Answer 10

Venus