Five planets can be seen without optical aid: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, with the two most distant planets, Uranus and Neptune, requiring binoculars or a telescope to see. Here is when to spot them in 2011.
Mercury at Its Best for 2011
Mercury circles the sun on an interior orbit to us, meaning that it can never be up in the middle of the night because it will always appear relatively close to the sun. Therefore, Mercury must be spotted in the mornings before sunrise or in the evenings after sunset.
In January, Mercury can be found in the morning sky in the east. By early March, Mercury has moved to the evening sky and will be visible for the rest of the month in the west. From late April to late May it is back in the east in the morning. In late June through late July Mercury has bounced back into the evening sky in the west. Late August brings Mercury back to the morning sky until mid-September, when it once again leaves for its last evening appearance of the year from the end of October to late November. Mercury closes the year in the morning sky from early December on.
Venus as the Morning Star and the Evening Star
Venus, being the brightest pointlike object in the sky when it is up, is often called the morning star or evening star. From January 2011 to June 2011, Venus is bright in the morning sky in the east. Then in the middle of the year the planet hangs by the sun, making it hard to see until it reappears in mid-October in the evening sky, where it will spend the rest of the year.
Mars Stays in the Morning Sky in 2011
Mars will be hanging with the sun in early 2011, not showing itself until mid-May in the morning sky, where it will stay until 2012. Try rising early on May 30 or 31, to spot a crescent moon in the east with three planets nearby. Venus is the brightest at magnitude -3.9, Mercury is second brightest at magnitude -0.8, and Mars is dimmest at magnitude 1.3.
Spotting Jupiter in 2011
Jupiter starts the year in the evening sky in the south, with Uranus less than a degree away (See Uranus, below). Jupiter has a conjunction with Mercury on March 15 when the two are only 2 degrees apart. Jupiter will slide to the southwest and set with the sun by late March. It will reemerge in the morning sky in early May and remain in the morning sky until November, although it will also make an appearance in the evening skies in mid-October, reaching opposition on October 28. It will become more of an evening object by year's end where it will reside until 2012.
Saturn Avoids Jupiter in 2011
Saturn starts the year in the morning twilight, briefly joining Jupiter in the evening in late March, on the opposite side of the sky. As Jupiter heads to morning skies, Saturn takes over the evening sky until late September. Saturn reaches opposition on April 3. In late October Saturn goes back into the morning sky where it will remain into 2012.
How to See Uranus
Because the seventh planet from the sun is dim, it requires binoculars or a telescope and is easiest to find when it lies close to a well-known object, such as Jupiter. In the first 11 days of January 2011, Uranus will be less than a degree to Jupiter's right. On January 3 and 4, the two planets will be only half a degree apart. Another opportunity comes on the morning of April 23 when Uranus is less than a degree from brilliant Venus.
Neptune through a Telescope
Your best bet to see Neptune is with a telescope when it appears next to an easily identifiable bright object. In the morning hours of March 26 and 27, Venus and Neptune are less than a degree apart. Venus is unmistakably bright in the east-southeast, with Neptune about a half degree to its left on the 26th and to Venus's right on the 27th. If you miss this pairing, there'll be another one in the evening hours between Venus and Neptune in January 2012.
Source: Celestron's The Sky Software
Kelly Whitt - I have been a professional writer for more than a decade, covering many topics from science-based articles to do-it-yourself home ...
