The year 2012 is starting off with a big bang, displaying all five visible planets within the course of a single night. By visible planet, we mean any planet that has been known since time immemorial, and can easily be seen with the unaided eye. In their outward order from the sun, the five visible planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
The sky’s brightest and second-brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter, respectively – pop out first thing at dusk. Look for the moon, the brightest heavenly object in the nighttime sky, and you simply can’t miss nearby Jupiter. And Venus, the most brilliant heavenly body after the sun and moon, blazes away in the southwest corner of the sky after sunset. Venus sets at early evening while Jupiter stays out till well past midnight.
For the fun of it, we show the solar system’s two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, on our sky chart. Uranus, the seventh planet outward from the sun, was discovered in 1781, and Neptune, the eighth planet outward, was first seen in 1846. You’ll need an optical aid and a
detailed sky chart to see either planet in the evening sky.
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