“Naked eye planets” can be seen without binoculars or a telescope, and for the next month those five planets, plus a comet, will be making a rare simultaneous occurrence. From Jan. 20 to Feb. 20, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter will all be visible at once about 45 minutes before the sun rises. The spectacle, which has not been seen in more than a decade, will be enhanced by the appearance of Comet Catalina, making its closest swing to Earth this week, marking the first time it has been seen in Earth’s solar system.
The five planets will be visible from every point on earth except the North Pole. In the Northern Hemisphere of Earth, the planets can be spotted by looking east and locating the two brightest lights, which would be Venus and Jupiter.
Start with Venus, which is the brightest light in the night sky and should appear just above the horizon to the southeast.
Jupiter is next. Although it’s the second brightest light, it’s far from Venus, appearing in the southwest. Some good image-stabilizing binoculars may even make some of Jupiter’s moons visible.
The other three planets should now be easier to spot. Mars will be a reddish dot about halfway between Jupiter and Venus, although not as bright. Saturn is between Mars and Venus. Mercury, although harder to spot, will look like a small bright dot between the horizon and Venus.
Then there’s the comet, for which binoculars or telescope will be needed, but stargazers who are already outside might as well take a look. Looking through binoculars, Catalina will appear to be a small, fuzzy smudge. EarthSky has some tips for spotting it. It is above the northeastern horizon, moving slowly across the sky. At its closest point, that motion should be visible through a telescope.
The sighting is happening because of the position of the planets in their orbits. Right now all five happen to lie to the right of the sun, if viewed from above the solar system. It’s essentially a line of six: Jupiter is the first to rise and the sun is the last.
According to Popular Science, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus, the four brightest ones, are fairly easy to spot, especially with the use of a star chart or app, such as Exoplanet or SkyEye. Mercury, easily lost in the light of the rising sun, is a little harder to find.
Tips for watching: first, figure out when sunrise is. the U.S. Naval Observatory has a tool for that. Then, consider downloading one of the astronomy apps and practice using it inside the house before heading out in the cold.
The best days for planet watching are the end of January and first week of February, when Mercury is at one of its highest spots. At this time the planets will appear to be in alignment for the first time since January 2005. The same thing will happen this August, but without the comet.