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Where do I look for the Planets?
Home » Astronomy » Observing the Planets » Where do I look for the Planets?The two inner planets—Mercury and Venus—are closer to the Sun than Earth. We will always see them just after the Sun sets, or just before the Sun rises. The ring of their orbit is much smaller than Earth’s, so they will only appear a short distance above the horizon—setting shortly after the Sun, or rising just before. Mercury is sometimes bright enough to be spotted easily, but it helps to use binoculars. Venus outshines every star in the sky!
As we move outward on the ecliptic, we find Mars. Since its orbit around the Sun is slightly longer than ours, there will be long periods of time when Mars is easily visible. Do you remember retrograde motion? When the Earth catches up with Mars it will appear to slow down on its path across the sky as we approach it, stand still as we come alongside, and move the other way as we pass it. Retrograde motion also happens with the outer planets, but the process is much slower. The planets all follow the same rule—the ecliptic plane. Do you remember what else also follows that same rule? That’s right... the constellations of the zodiac. You will always see the planets in relationship with those twelve constellations.
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