All planets in the solar system will be visible tonight; Here’s how you can watch

Good news for all sky gazers! In a rare cosmic display, all planets in our solar system will illuminate at once tonight.

The two furthest planets from Earth, Uranus and Neptune, may be seen with binoculars or a telescope, whereas Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can all be seen at once with the unaided eye.

In the northern hemisphere yesterday, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars could all be seen with the unaided eye in that sequence, starting from the southwest horizon and proceeding east. With binoculars or a telescope, you may also observe Neptune, which lies between Saturn and Jupiter, and Uranus, which is situated between Mars and Jupiter, through the end of the year.

How to watch all planets at once tonight?

All the planets were barely 1.5 degrees apart on Wednesday night, and they all came together tonight at 9 pm GMT to form a conjunction, their closest point. Anyone can train their eyes to focus on the lower portion of the westward-facing sky, which is where they will most likely see the planets. Every day until the end of the year, Venus will be visible for the best part of 40 minutes after sunset, when it will also be at its clearest.

Because it is located in a brilliant area of the sky, Mercury will be the most difficult object to see with the unaided eye. However, it is still visible near Venus, its considerably brighter neighbour. The other planets will line up in an easterly direction, with Jupiter high in the southern sky and shining brighter than any star.

Saturn, the second-largest planet, will have a golden colour when it emerges in the southwest after dusk each day until 2023, while Mars will be red and brighter than most stars. Several sky-scanning programmes can let anybody, even a novice astronomer, find the planets in the night sky.

FAQs:

1. When is the best time to go stargazing?
   The best time to go stargazing is the days before and after each new Moon.
2. Which planet is the hardest to spot with the naked eye?
   Mercury