To see the five naked eye planets on the morning of February 1, look south for the moon.  Reddish Mars is 2 degrees to the lower right of the moon.  (One degree is the apparent size of 2 full moons.)  Brilliant Venus gleams from the southeast.  Mercury is nearly 7 degrees to the lower left … Continue reading 2016: Mars & Moon, Five Planets, February 1

To locate the five planets during late January 2016, the moon appears near Jupiter on the mornings of January 27 and January 28.  Venus is the brightest starlike object, appearing low in the southeast.  Viewing with a clear horizon, Mercury appears to the lower left of Venus.  The bright star near the moon in Jupiter. … Continue reading 2016: Five Planets in Morning, Jupiter & Moon

  The chart shows the setting times of the planets visible without a telescope and stars near the solar system's orbital plane for 2016.  Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are also represented with their rising times during the evening.  While the chart represents the activity in the western evening sky, the three outer planets rise in … Continue reading 2016: The Evening Sky

This chart shows the visibility of planets and bright stars near the planets' orbital paths in the eastern morning sky in 2016.  The chart shows the objects' rising times compared to sunrise.  The earliest activity begins at 5 hours before sunrise.  The moon's rising time is shown by the vertical sets of circles.  The beginning … Continue reading 2016: The Morning Sky