How can one distinguish between stars and planet by looking at the sky with naked eye?

Question

While looking at the sky in the night with naked eye, how does stars look different from planets

Answer 1

Only by studying a celestial map and knowing exactly where they are. Planets and stars are pretty much indistinguishable with the naked eye, except during short periods when Mars or Venus are relatively close to the Earth (then they are noticably bigger).

Answer 2

Planets don't tend to twinkle the way stars do. But that can be difficult to discern in the summer...twinkling is more prevalent in winter when the air is cold and less steady. I can tell you the REALLY bright "star" in the west at this point just after sundown is Venus. Saturn and Mars are out as well.
The easiest way to tell would involve learning the constelations...especially the ones of the zodiac...i.e. Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, etc. Those constellations all lie on what is the plane of the solar system from our vantage point on earth...as a consequence, the Sun, Moon, and Planets will all appear somewhere along a line running between all the zobiac constellations that's called the "ecliptic". If you know what the normal star patterns are of those constdellations, you'll then be able to tell when there's an "out of place" star among them...which would be a planet! After a while, you'll start to recognize which planet it is by the naked eye just by seeing it's brightness and color onve you're more familiar.

Answer 3

Stars are point sources and will twinkle regardless. Planets are disks and generally do not.

Venus is easy to spot. It is the second brightest object in the night sky. It stays nearish the horizon, either following the setting sun or preceding the rising sun.

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn aren't hard to find either. They are brightish light (Jupiter and Saturn being white, Mars being red). Over a period of time you will see them move against the background of the stars. An observatory near you will have a sky chart online that will tell you where to look to find the planets.

Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are difficult to see. Mercury was seen by the ancients without telescopes, but it was quite a bit darker at night back then. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were all discovered with telescopes. Neptune and Pluto, in fact, were discovered mathematically based on perturbations of the orbit of the next planet in. You wouldn't be able to see those with the naked eye.

Answer 4

EVERYTHING twinkles if it is at the right height in the sky, people just say planets dont twinkle because at any given time there usually isnt a planet at those heights, i look at the sky every night and have seen venus, jupiter, mars, and saturn all twinkle....i think the best way for someone not familiar with the sky to dicern planets from stars, is to learn the constellations of the zodiac. because, this is the path all of the planets travel through just like our sun and moon. once youve looked at these constellations and learned what their patterns look like it is easy to pick out the "star" that doesnt belong, because its actually a planet. furthermore "almost" "all" of the time, the planets are going to be much brighter than the stars in the constellation that they travel through. ill star you off on your first planet hunt...go outside right around sunset. look above where the sun is setting, once it starts to get dark, youll see venus it will be the first "star" to pop out, once it gets a little darker you wont be able to miss it, the only things in the sky brighter than venus are the sun and moon. once you see venus look pretty much straight up, you will see the constellation leo, the brightest "star" in this constellation right now is actually the planet saturn. saturn is a little harder to tell apart from the stars, so thats why i say its good to learn the constellations first. if you wait just a little later in the night and look to the south east you can see jupiter, its almost as bright as venus but not quite. it also looks a little yellowish to me, but most people say it looks white. it is going to be in the constellation scorpio (which actually kind of looks like a scorpion) good luck, i hope you find some planets!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

If you are in the northern hemisphere you can get a clue as to where a planet will be, follow the track that the sun takes in it's daily path across the sky, planets are roughly in the same plane. Stars are mere pin points of light, they twinkle, Planets don't. Jupiter is red and very prominent, Venus is very bright and so is Saturn.

Answer 6

It is said that stars twinkle while planets don't. But you can't rely on that. Sometomes planets twinkle. It depends on the condition of the atmosphere. The surest way is to get acquainted with the night sky and to consult an almanac or magazine like Star and Telescope. Right now Venus can be seen in the west after sunset. It is the brightest object in the night sky after the moon. For a couple of weeks, Mercury can be seen low in the west after sunset now. However it isn't very bright in the twilight. Binoculars would help to find it. Saturn is visible now in the west after sunset, higher and to the left of Venus, and not as bright. Jupiter is very bright and can be seen rising in the southeast shortly after sunset. Mars is a dim orange, rising shortly before sunrise in the east. If you watch them over weeks and months you will see their positions change relative to the stars. Venus will be interesting to watch in the next 2 months as it gets brighter and draws closer to the sun. In fact, in late August through the end of the year, Venus will be seen brilliantly in the eastern sky in the early morning hours before dawn.

Answer 7

watch for the brightest points in the sky to twinkle or not. Getting to know the sky helps also tonight you'll be able to see saturn, venus jupiter and mars early in the morning.

Answer 8

Stars twinkle, and planets don't.

Answer 9

Not really sure, I think the stars twinkle more.