Our new year starts with Mars on the meridian at sunset while Orion is rising. Venus is a morning object in Libra. Jupiter rises a little later below it. Mercury rises later still closer to sunrise. Saturn is too close to the sun to see. Mars starts 2019 below the head of the southwest fish […]

Saturn remains near the Sagittarius teapot after sunset when December starts. The ringed planet will set not long after the sun. Mars is close to the meridian, in Aquarius, ready to set around midnight. A waning crescent moon rises a while after midnight. Venus is in Virgo closer to dawn. Mercury is a hard catch […]

November starts with Jupiter and Mercury together between Libra and Scorpius as the sun sets. Saturn continues its reign at the top of the teapot of Sagittarius. Mars is in the eastern part of Capricornus. All four of these planets are evening objects.     For northern hemisphere observers, there’s a zoo of constellations in […]

All five naked eye planets are in the evening sky when October starts. Mercury, as usual, is hard to see though. The best views will be from around 25° south where the planet appears to be directly above the setting sun. At barely a 7.5° elongation, even at the latitude of South Africa and Paraguay, […]

Four planets are visible in our evening sky this month. From west to east they are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. Mercury is a morning object when the month starts.     Venus is just below Spica at the start of the month. After reigning as a bright evening object for months, it is heading […]

Four planets are easily visible as darkness sets in after sunset when August begins. See ever bright Venus in the west, Jupiter a little past the meridian west of the diamond of Libra, Saturn rather far east above the teapot of Sagittarius, and Mars rising. If you’re viewing from the southern hemisphere, it’s five planets […]

In the middle of July, you’ll be able to see all five naked eye planets and the crescent moon in the sky at the same time. Get ready for this wondrous view by identifying and watching them as the month starts.     Mercury is below Venus in the west after sunset. Jupiter is near […]

Venus continues its reign of the evening sky in the heart of Gemini at the start of June. Or should be way between the hearts of Gemini? Barely a week into the new month, the planet is heading out of Gemini and on the way to Cancer where it passes through the Beehive cluster on […]

Except for when the moon is in the neighborhood, Venus is the brightest object in the western sky in the evenings this month. You’ll see it first. As darkness sets in, look for Sirius, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, Capella, and Procyon too. Venus starts May a little right and above the Hyades. It passes near a star […]

    Planet watching is best in the morning this month. Jupiter, actually rising in late evening, remains in the diamond of Libra moving retrograde (westward) toward Zubenelgenubi. If you’ve been watching Mars since the beginning of the year, you’ve seen it pass right on by Jupiter in January and Antares in February. In March, […]