Visible Planets - When and Where to View (2024)

Ever look at the Moon and see a bright star shining beside it? Chances are it’s a planet (usually Venus or Jupiter). Farmers’ Almanac teams up with expert astronomer Dean Regas for this go-to guide to tell you which visible planets are shining tonight (or tomorrow morning) and which direction to look. Spot the five naked-eye planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—no telescope needed! We also explain how to see Uranus and Neptune through a telescope. (What about Pluto? This dwarf planet is tough to see, but if you’d like to learn more about it let us know.)

Bookmark this page and refer to it throughout the year!

All The Planets In Order

Did you ever recite the old phrase, “My very educated mother just served us nachos?” That saying can help you remember the order of the planets from closest to farthest from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. The first letter of each word is the first letter of each planet.

Visible Planets 2024

This monthly listing of the visible planets, viewing directions, and special sky events is followed by more information about each planet. (Tap on any of the planets listed above to go directly to each of those sections.)

Mark your calendar for two upcoming planet events:

1) Parade of Planets 2024 — The crescent Moon leads a parade of planets on 4th of July morning. (In fact, you may have an even better view before sunrise on July 3, 2024.) Jump to the details!

2) Venus will reappear as an “evening star” in the night sky in mid-July 2024.

June 2024

There will be five visible planets in June 2024, each of which will only be visible before sunrise (not in the evening):

Mercury:Not visible (too close to the Sun)

Venus:Not visible (too close to the Sun)

Mars: Before sunrise (east)

Jupiter:Last half of the month, before sunrise (east)

Saturn: Before sunrise (southeast)

Uranus: Last half of the month, before sunrise (east)

Neptune: Before sunrise (southeast)

June 4: Jupiter and Mercury will be one tenth of one degree apart. (Though this will be extremely difficult to observe as it will occur just before sunrise and during the daytime).

June 5: Jupiter, Mercury, and a waning crescent Moon. Look east just before sunrise. (Same note as above: This is a challenge.)

June Night Sky Guide 2024 —More Details

Have any questions about our Visible Planets Guide? Ask us in the comments!

July 2024

There will be seven visible planets in July 2024—five before sunrise and two after sunset:

Mercury: Just after sunset (west)

⭐ Venus: Last half of the month, after sunset (west)

Mars: Before sunrise (east)

Jupiter:Before sunrise (east)

Saturn: Before sunrise (south)

Uranus: Before sunrise (east)

Neptune: Before sunrise (south)

⭐ July 3:Parade of Planets 2024. The crescent Moon, Jupiter, Uranus, Mars, Neptune, Saturn—even Pluto—will march in a row early this morning. Look east and to the south at approximately 4 a.m. local time. (The only two planets missing will be Mercury and Venus, which are on the other side of the Sun.)

While it is possible to see all of these planets together in the sky by mid-June, we recommend taking a gander on the early mornings of July 3, when the crescent Moon will lead the pack.

Up for a challenge? Watch for the Moon at 4 a.m. on June 24 (St. John’s Day), when it will hang in the sky right next to Pluto. (You won’t be able to see Pluto, but you can imagine it being right where the Moon is.) Then watch for the Moon again each morning until July 4. It will appear to run past each of the planets to the head of the parade!

July 30: Jupiter, Moon, Mars Triangle. Look east between 2 a.m. and sunrise. (On the following morning, July 31, the Moon will appear to the lower left of Jupiter.)

Return to Top

August 2024

There will be six visible planets in August 2024:

Mercury:Not visible (too close to the Sun)

Venus: After sunset (west)

Mars: Before sunrise (east)

Jupiter:Before sunrise (east)

Saturn: Before sunrise (southwest)

Uranus: Before sunrise (east)

Neptune: Before sunrise (southwest)

August 5: Venus and the Moon (only one half of one degree apart). Look west at sunset. Note: This will be really tough to see. Make sure that there are no tall buildings or trees on the western horizon.

August 14: Mars “Kisses” Jupiter. Mars will be less than one degree above Jupiter. Look east between 2 a.m. and sunrise.

August 27: Mars, Moon, and Jupiter form a triangle. Look east from 1 a.m. until sunrise.

September 2024

There are seven visible planets in September 2024:

Mercury:Most of the month, just before sunrise (east)

Venus: After sunset (west)

Mars: Before sunrise (southeast)

Jupiter: Before sunrise (southeast)

Saturn: Before sunrise (west)

Uranus: Before sunrise (southeast)

Neptune: Before sunrise (west)

September 5: Venus and the Moon. (This one is tough to see. Look west immediately after sunset and be sure that there are not tall buildings or trees obstructing your view of the western horizon.)

September 23+24: Jupiter and the Moon. Look east after midnight. This is also great opportunity to see Jupiter during the day. Find the Moon in the morning sky and look to the right. You may see Jupiter shining through the blue sky.

September 25: Moon “Kisses” Mars. Look east from 2 a.m. until sunrise.

October 2024

There will be six visible planets in October 2024:

Mercury:Not visible (too close to the Sun)

Venus: After sunset (southwest)

Mars: Before Sunrise (southeast)

Jupiter:Before Sunrise (south)

Saturn: After sunset (southeast)

Uranus: Before sunrise (southwest)

Neptune: After sunset (southeast)

October 5: Venus and the Moon (This pairing will be tough to see. Look west immediately after sunset and be sure there are no tall buildings or trees on the western horizon.)

October 20: Jupiter and the Moon. Look east after 9:30 p.m. local time (until sunrise).

October 21: This is a great opportunity to spot Jupiter during the day. Look for the Moon in the southwest morning sky (before 10 a.m. local time). To the lower right you may see Jupiter shining through the blue sky. Later that evening, beginning at around 9:30pm you will see Jupiter rise in the east with the Moon.

November 2024

There will be seven visible planets in November 2024:

Mercury:Just after sunset (southwest)

Venus: After sunset (southwest)

Mars: Before Sunrise (south)

Jupiter:After sunset (southeast)

Saturn: After sunset (southeast)

Uranus: Before sunrise (southwest)

Neptune: After sunset (southeast)

November 4 and 5: Venus and the Moon. (Tough to see. Look west immediately after sunset and be sure that there are no tall buildings or trees on the western horizon.)

November 16 and 17: Jupiter and the Moon in the evening sky. Look east approximately 6 pm local time until sunrise. The Moon will be to the right of Jupiter on November 16 and to the left of Jupiter on November 17.

November 22: Venus passes about one degree north of Nunki, a second-magnitude star in Sagittarius. Look southwest beginning at 5-6 p.m. local time.

December 2024

There will be seven visible planets in December 2024:

Mercury:Last half of the month, just before sunrise (southeast)

Venus: After sunset (southwest)

Mars: Before sunrise (southwest)

Jupiter:After sunset (east)

Saturn: After sunset (south)

Uranus: After sunset (southeast)

Neptune: After sunset (south)

December 3-5: Venus and the Moon. Look southwest from just before sunset (until about two hours after sunset). On December 3, the Moon will be below and to the right of Venus. On December 4, the Moon will be hanging directly under Venus. By December 5, the Moon will be to the upper left of Venus.

December 14: Jupiter and the Moon. Look east after sunset to see the Moon and Jupiter hanging side-by-side as they rise high together in the night sky.

Return to Top

More About Each Planet

For easy reference, we included each planet’s specific viewing date ranges, times, and directions here—as well as more information. If you have any questions or would otherwise like more information, please tell us in the comments. Your questions will be answered by our expert astronomers.

Mercury: The Elusive Planet

When is Mercury visible in 2024?

• May 2-23: Look east just before sunrise.
• July 8-29: Look west just after sunset.
• August 30-September 19: Look east just before sunrise.
• November 2-23: Look southwest just after sunset.
• December 18-31: Look southeast just before sunrise. (These are the best days to see Mercury during morning hours in 2024.)

Mercury is the most elusive planet and is the toughest of the five naked eye planets to find in the night sky. It moves quickly from night to night, and it shifts from being visible in the morning sky to the evening sky in a matter of weeks.

In Roman mythology, Mercury was associated with the swift, fleet-footed messenger god. The planet lives up to the reputation of its namesake as the fastest planet, whipping around the Sun at an average speed of almost 106,000 miles per hour.

The main problem with finding Mercury is that it orbits very close to the Sun. That means Mercury is most often up in the sky at the same time as the Sun.

The only time you can find Mercury is when it appears farthest from the Sun (astronomers call this position of a planet its greatest elongation) while the Sun is still below the horizon.

To see Mercury when it is at its greatest eastern elongation, you will want to look to the western sky 15 minutes after sunset. It will be low in the sky, so you will need a clear view of the western horizon free from buildings or trees. As the sky darkens, search for a steady, semi-bright light glowing through the twilight. It will be about as bright as the brightest nighttime stars.

To observe Mercury in the morning sky, you will have to wait for its greatest western elongation. When this occurs, look low above the eastern horizon 45 minutes before sunrise. Over the next 30 minutes you might see pinkish Mercury pop into view just before the Sun pokes above the horizon.

Venus: The Dazzling Planet

When is Venus visible in 2024?

• July 15-December 31, 2024: Look west after sunset. (The best time to view Venus in the evening sky in 2024will be from October 5-December 31, 2024.)

Venus was the goddess of beauty in ancient Rome. When the planet Venus is in the sky just after sunset as the “Evening Star” or just before sunrise as the “Morning Star,” you cannot miss her. When Venus shines, she looks like an extraterrestrial visitor has graced the heavens.

Venus is the brightest planet in the nighttime sky. It is so dazzlingly bright because it is relatively close to Earth and because a thick blanket of clouds perpetually covers its surface. These clouds reflect so much sunlight into space that from Earth only the Sun and Moon shine brighter than Venus.

Like Mercury, Venus can best be seen just before sunrise or just after sunset, depending on where it is in its orbit. Some stargazers call Venus the Morning Star or Evening Star, depending on when it is visible. Venus looks especially good when it is near a waxing crescent Moon in the fading twilight of evening, or when it cozies up to a waning crescent Moon just before dawn.

After the Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky. It is both the Earth’s closest neighbor in our Solar System and the planet most similar to Earth in size, gravity, and composition. We can’t see the surface ofVenusfrom Earth, because it is covered with thickclouds. Venus has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), which consists mostly of carbon dioxide. Always brilliant, and shining with a steady, silvery light.

Mars: The Red Planet

When is Mars visible in 2024?

• May-December: Look east before sunrise. (Mars becomes brighter as the year goes on.)

Mars is easy to find in the night sky with the naked eye because of its distinctive color. It is nicknamed the Red Planet because it shines with an extremely off-white light. When you find it, you might classify its hue as orange or yellow instead of red, but when you compare its light to that of white or blue stars, you will see it is redder than most. This bloody color led ancient Romans to associate this planet with Mars, their god of war.

In the sky Mars appears brighter than the brightest stars that are visible from even urban locations. Mars is best viewed when it is closest to the Earth, and thus appears at its biggest and brightest in the evening sky. The Red Planet’s distance from us varies significantly: from almost 250 million miles at its farthest to about 35 million miles at its closest.

Astronomers use the term opposition to describe the moment when Mars and Earth get closest together as they orbit the Sun. Opposition occurs when the Earth is between Mars and the Sun, placing the Sun on the opposite side of the sky from Mars. This alignment happens about every 26 months.

The next Mars opposition occurs in mid-January 2025.

Jupiter: The Steady Planet

When is Jupiter visible in 2024?

• June 15-December 6: Look east before sunrise.(Jupiter is brightest in the morning sky fromNovember 14-December 6.)
• December 7-31: Look west after sunset. (Jupiter is brightest in the evening sky during this time frame.)

Ancients Greeks called it Zeus, and the Romans adopted this bright night light as the manifestation of their chief god, Jupiter.

Jupiter is an unmistakable light in the night sky. It appears to be a non-twinkling cream-colored star and is very often the brightest starlike object in the entire night sky. Jupiter’s brilliance is so stunning that it is often more than twice as bright as the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. When Jupiter is in the sky, you notice it!

Jupiter is a steady performer. Unlike Mercury or Mars, the light it shines on Earth does not fluctuate very noticeably in brightness over the time it is visible in the night sky. Even though Jupiter is far from Earth (roughly 400 million miles), it is so large and its cloud tops reflect so much sunlight that it shines brightly whenever it is up in the sky.

Jupiter will be closest to the Earth (and brightest) during its next opposition, in December 7, 2024.

Saturn: The Slow Planet With A Secret

When is Saturn visible in 2024?

• May-June: Look southeast before sunrise.
• July-August: Look south before sunrise. (Brightest during the mornings at the end of August 2024.)
• September-November: Look southeast after sunset. (Brightest in the evenings until the beginning of October 2024.)
• December: Look south after sunset.

Saturn is the slowest-moving of the naked-eye planets. The ancient Romans noticed this sluggish motion and incorporated it into their mythology. Saturn was often depicted as an old man with a long beard and later was equated with the figure of Father Time.

The farthest planet you can see with the naked eye, from even suburban locations, is Saturn. Although you cannot detect the ridiculously cool rings of this planet without a telescope, you can still easily locate it every year in the night sky.

Saturn appears to be a non-twinkling yellow star that shines with a light equal to or sometimes greater than the brightest first magnitude stars like Vega and Arcturus. Like all planets farther from the Sun than Earth, Saturn appears biggest and brightest near opposition. At opposition Saturn is still over 800 million miles away, but it is so large and its surface and rings reflect so much sunlight that it shines like a first magnitude star.

The next Saturn opposition is September 2024.

Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Others

To find the other planets, Uranus and Neptune, you will need a telescope. Uranus can be spotted with a pair of binoculars, but it will only look like a tiny pinpoint of light. Through a telescope, Uranus will appear as a pale blue-white circle of light. While Neptune, even through a large telescope, will only look like a tiny blue dot.

Do you have any suggestions for the best, affordable telescopes? Let us know in the comments.

Return to Top

When is Uranus visible in 2024?

• June 15-August 30: Look south before sunrise.
• September: Look southeast before sunrise.
• October-November 15: Look southwest before sunrise.
• December: Look southeast after sunset.

When is Neptune visible in 2024?

• May-June: Look southeast before sunrise.
• July: Look south before sunrise.
• August: Look southwest before sunrise.
• September: Look west before sunrise.
• October-November: Look southeast after sunset.
• December: Look south after sunset.

Visible Planet-Moon Pairings

People often notice a planet when it appears near the Moon. They will ask, “what was that bright ‘star’ next to the Moon last night?” The Moon and planets seem to traverse a ring around the Earth called the zodiac. These are the stars in the famous zodiac constellations like Aries, Virgo, and Sagittarius. The Moon monthly passes through all twelve zodiac constellations while the planets move through them at various, slower speeds. But each month, the Moon will appear to pass near each planet. When it does it is called a conjunction.

On the morning of May 31, 2024, a waning moon and the planet Saturn will be in conjunction and visible from about 3 a.m. until sunrise, local time.

The most picturesque pairing is when the crescent Moon shines next to the brightest planet, Venus. Here at Farmers’ Almanac we refer to this as The Moon “kissing” Venus. Pairings of Jupiter and the Moon are a close second! Here are upcoming dates for each:

The Moon Kisses Venus

The Moon kisses Venus (Moon-Venus conjunctions) in the evening sky on the following dates in 2024:

• August 5
• September 5
• October 5
• November 4
• December 4

The Moon Kisses Jupiter

The Moon kisses Jupiter (Moon-Jupiter conjunctions) in the morning sky, before sunrise, on the following dates in 2024:

• June 5 (very low in the sky and really tough to see)
• July 3
• July 30 and 31 (with Mars nearby)
• August 27
• September 24 (after midnight)

Moon-Jupiter conjunctions visible in the 2024 evening sky, after sunset:

• October 20
• November 16 and 17
• December 14

Kissing Planets

Two or more planets can often appear to line up as seen from Earth. Planetary alignments of two, three, four, or even five planets are some of the most amazing sights to see in the night sky.

Here are the planet pairings to watch for in 2024:

• June 4: Jupiter and Mercury 1/10 degree apart (it will be extremely difficult to observe since it will be just before sunrise and during the daytime)
• June 5: Jupiter, Mercury, and the waning crescent Moon just before sunrise.
• August 14: Mars and Jupiter will be about one-third of one degree apart. Look east between 2 a.m. and sunrise.

If this article inspires you to go outside and look for planets in the night sky for the first time, let us know what you find.

We love hearing from you!