Venus dominates the evening sky throughout August, but early risers have a special treat too, as Mercury and Jupiter draw together in a beautiful dawn conjunction around mid-month.

From our vantage point on Earth, Venus reaches the end of its tether to the sun on the evening of Aug. 15, when it is at greatest elongation 46 degrees to the east of the sun. And yet, paradoxically, instead of appearing high up in the west, Venus is getting noticeably lower to the west-southwest horizon as the month progresses. This is because its declination in the sky is taking it well to the south of the sun. In fact, Venus's greatest elongation coincides with the time that it sets right at the end of evening twilight.

During the second half of August, into September, Venus will no longer be setting in a dark sky, but rather in a progressively brighter twilight sky. This is all due to its increasing southerly declination and the fact that the ecliptic — the apparent path of the sun, moon and planets through the zodiacal constellations — appears to slope closer to the western horizon at sunset during late summer and early fall.

The planet best positioned for telescopic observation this month is the "Lord of the Rings," Saturn, which comes up during late evening and is in a commanding position, well up in the south-southeast at the break of dawn.

Mars becomes evident a few hours before sunrise. During August, Earth approaches it at an average daily rate of 425,800 miles (685,100 kilometers). Still, even at month's end, Mars will be 172.2 million miles (277.1 million km) away, so while it continues to brighten, that process will still be quite slow.

Mercury and Jupiter are morning objects. Mercury will be evident during the first half of August, low in the east-northeast within about an hour of sunrise. It will be joined at midmonth by Jupiter as that big world emerges into view out of the glare of the rising sun.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here, we present a schedule below which provides some of the best planet viewing times while directing you as to where to look to see them

Mercury

Mercury reaches greatest elongation from the Sun (19 degrees) on the morning of Aug. 2; it should be an obvious, +0.2-magnitude point low in the east-northeast if you look 50 minutes before sunrise. About a week later, look for Mercury very low in the east-northeast about an hour before sunrise. This small fleet world gets lower each dawn in early August, but it also rapidly brightens, from magnitude -0.7 on Aug. 9 to -1.3 (a trifle fainter than the brightest star, Sirius) by Aug. 16.

Also on Aug. 9, Castor and Pollux, the "Twin Stars" of Gemini, point directly toward Mercury. Just extend an imaginary line twice the distance between these two stars, down toward the east-northeast horizon and you'll come to Mercury. Early on the morning of Aug. 11, an exceedingly thin crescent moon — just 2% illuminated and about 32 hours from new (and a solar eclipse) — will lie about 2 degrees to the upper left of Mercury. From Aug. 13 through Aug. 17, Mercury will engage in a close interaction with Jupiter. Mercury arrives at superior conjunction with the sun on Aug. 27 and transitions into the evening sky.

Venus

Venus continues to outshine August's other evening stars and planets by a huge margin, brightening from magnitude -4.2 to -4.5 over the course of the month. It reaches its greatest elongation from the sun (46 degrees) on the evening of Aug. 15 and now resembles a roughly half-moon phase (48% illuminated) through a telescope. On the same evening, a three and a quarter day old crescent moon is poised to the lower right of Venus.

Mars

Mars rises around 2 a.m. local daylight time. When dawn breaks just over two hours later, it will stand 20 degrees above the east-northeast horizon. On the morning of Aug. 9, it can be found about 4.5 degrees to the right of a waning crescent moon.

Jupiter

Jupiter was in conjunction with the sun on July 29 and on Aug. 5, it is still too close to the sun to be visible without optical aid. But Jupiter appears two-thirds of a degree higher each morning and by Aug. 12, it should be visible about 5 degrees to Mercury's lower left shortly before sunrise, appearing dim in the bright twilight even though it shines at magnitude -1.8. Jupiter and Mercury shine less than 4 degrees from each other from Aug. 13 through Aug. 17.

Early on the morning of Aug. 15, the smallest and largest planets will meet in a close conjunction, with Jupiter shining about twice as bright as Mercury and separated by less than 0.6 degrees. However, seeing this tight pairing will be a challenge, as the duo lies just 12 degrees west of the sun and are up just 65 minutes before sunrise as seen from mid-northern latitudes. This majestic pair is about 10 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon at sunrise. You probably are going to need binoculars to fish them out against the brightening twilight sky. Still, it's worth the effort. After that, Jupiter moves rapidly off to Mercury's upper right, climbing into better morning view as its year-long apparition gets underway.

Saturn

Saturn rises a few hours after sunset, brightening in a lonely spot near the Cetus-Pisces border. In a telescope, its rings are tilted enough for good viewing; they narrow somewhat in the months ahead. Late on the evening of August 3rd, you'll find Saturn shining to the lower right of a gibbous moon.

If you're looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, our guides for the best binocular deals and the best telescope deals are here to help. Interested in capturing the night sky? Check out our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

The three-planet evening show that graced June's twilight sky has now dwindled to one lone survivor.

Mercury and Jupiter are now swinging behind the sun and are lost in the bright solar glare. Only Venus remains evident after sunset, and even here the dazzling evening star itself is showing subtle signs of slowly dropping down into the sunset fires; it is getting noticeably lower in the western sky with each passing week. It will pass close to the brightest star in Leo the Lion, Regulus, during the second week of July.

Saturn is in a fine position to be viewed just before the break of dawn in the east-southeast. The famous rings are now tilted some 9 degrees toward Earth, once again making this planet a showpiece for telescopic observation.

Mars rises about 2.5 hours before sunrise but is ever-so-slowly becoming more conspicuous as it brightens while climbing a bit higher in the eastern sky. It will also serve as a benchmark to locate the much fainter planet Uranus early on the morning of July 4; this distant greenish world will then be positioned only about 7 arcminutes (less than one-quarter of the apparent width of the moon) above Mars. Certainly, if you have never seen Uranus before, this will be an excellent opportunity to sight it, either with a small telescope or binoculars, or even possibly with your unaided eyes.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here's where and when to look for each planet during July.

Mercury

Mercury passes inferior conjunction and enters the morning sky on July 12. It's too low and dim to detect until about July 26 or maybe later. By Aug. 2, Mercury will reach a greatest western elongation of 19 degrees from the sun.

Venus

Venus is conspicuous as July's long evening twilights fade. If you live at mid-northern latitudes and look to the west about 45 minutes after sunset, you'll find Venus shining brightly about 15 degrees high this month. This is noticeably lower than it was in June.

The planet starts July by setting more than two hours after the sun and follows the sun down to the horizon somewhat sooner by month's end. Venus is still rather small in a telescope this month, but there's no doubt that it has a gibbous phase. It will be larger in apparent diameter but smaller in phase, down to about half lit, when it reaches greatest elongation from the sun in mid-August.

On July 9, you will notice a much dimmer but still reasonably prominent point of light near Venus: the bluish 1st magnitude star Regulus. Venus burns only 1 degree to the upper right of Regulus, which is 150 times fainter. They're less than 3 degrees apart from July 7 through July 12. On July 17, the 3.5-day-old crescent moon will sit 5.5 degrees to the left of Venus.

Earth

Earth reaches aphelion, its farthest point from the sun in its orbit, on July 6 at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT). Our planet is then 94,502,962 miles (152,087,775 km) from the sun (measured center to center), which is 3.28% farther from the sun than we were at perihelion last Jan. 3; a change of only one part in 30.

Mars

Mars rises around 2:50 a.m. local daylight time and is positioned between the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters, low in the east-northeast sky by dawn. At magnitude +1.3, it remains rather inconspicuous, but its luminosity continues to increase as we gain on it in our smaller, faster orbit.

On Independence Day morning (July 4), Mars points the way to Uranus, which is only 1/63 as bright. But with good binoculars or a small telescope, this distant world should appear like a tiny greenish star, hovering just 0.1 degree above Mars. Uranus is 168 light-minutes from Earth and more than 9½ times farther than Mars.

On the morning of July 11, about 90 minutes before sunrise, look low toward the east-northeast horizon to see a waning crescent moon. About 5 degrees below it, you'll find Mars and about the same distance below the Red Planet, you'll find a similarly hued and somewhat brighter star, orange Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull.

Jupiter

Jupiter comes to conjunction with the sun on July 29; it's on the far side of the sun during July and can't be seen.

Saturn

Saturn comes up in the east around 1 a.m. local time at the beginning of July and 11 p.m. at month's end. It's located near the border separating the constellations Pisces and Cetus. By month's end, the rings are tilted 9.1 degrees from horizontal — their greatest tilt of the year. Early on the morning of July 7, you'll find Saturn mimicking a bright star shining with a sedate yellow-white hue, sitting well to the lower left of the moon.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

This is the month of the "Great Celestial Summit Meeting" between a crescent moon, three bright planets and two bright stars. The stars (Pollux and Castor) and planets (Venus, Jupiter and Mercury) will be arrayed across the west-northwest sky during the first half of the month, with the moon moving in to join them during the evenings of June 16 and June 17. The most amazing sight will be provided by Venus and Jupiter as they approach each other on a nightly basis, before finally arriving at a close conjunction, less than two degrees apart, on the evening of June 9.

Meanwhile, the early hours of the morning belong to Saturn and Mars. Saturn rises well after midnight most of this month, but is well placed in the southeast sky at the break of dawn. Using a telescope magnifying 30x or more will bring out its beautiful ring system, a big improvement compared to a year ago, when they appeared virtually edgewise to our line of sight. Meanwhile, Mars is becoming easier to sight, after being enmeshed in the bright twilight glow for nearly a year. It becomes evident, low in the east-southeast, a couple of hours before sunup. Shining now at first magnitude, it will brighten, but very slowly, during the second half of this year.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here, we present a schedule below which provides some of the best planet viewing times, as well as directing you as to where to look to see them

The sun

The sun at 4:25 a.m. EDT on June 21, arrives at that point where it is farthest north of the celestial equator (the solstice). Summer officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter begins in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mercury

Mercury during the first three weeks of June makes its highest vault into twilight for mid-northern observers this year. Each night, this shy planet comes into view at almost the same time and place in the west-northwest sky. During the first half of this month Mercury is about 18 degrees up at sunset (as seen from latitude 40 degrees north) and perhaps 12 degrees high when the sky has darkened enough for us to spot it.

On the evening of June 15, it's positioned about 7 degrees to the lower right of Jupiter and for the next few evenings, we'll have a "planet trifecta" with Venus, Jupiter and Mercury aligned diagonally from upper left to lower right.

On June 16, a thin waxing crescent moon joins the evening planet trio and sits about 3 degrees above and slightly to the left of Mercury and about 5 degrees to the right and slightly below Jupiter. By June 22 Mercury is still 23 degrees from the sun, 2 degrees less than at greatest elongation, but even fainter at magnitude +1.2. It will be lost from view soon after.

Venus

Venus won't reach its greatest elongation from the sun until mid-August. But for viewers at mid-northern latitudes, June is the month when Venus appears highest right after sunset. This is true because the planet is moving rapidly south relative to the sun.

This dazzling world (magnitude -4.0) is now more than 25 degrees high at sunset for observers around 40 degrees north latitude. It sets about 2½ hours after the sun at the start of June and maintains this interval throughout the month. Of course, for the first nine days of June, the big attraction will be to follow Venus as it marches a bit closer each evening toward Jupiter. They will be closest together on the evening of June 9, just 1.6 degrees apart. As darkness deepens, another set of "twins" comes into view just a fist-width to the right of the planetary pair. The stars Pollux and Castor in the constellation of Gemini appear three times farther apart and much dimmer than Venus and Jupiter. On June 10, Venus forms a nearly straight and horizontal line, just over 10 degrees long with the Gemini twins. Venus pulls rapidly to the upper left of Jupiter after their close conjunction. On June 17, an even more striking celestial tableau awaits as darkness falls, with the crescent moon sitting only a couple of degrees to the left of Venus, while well to their lower right sit Jupiter, Pollux, Castor and Mercury.

On June 19, Venus is now in the middle of the faint zodiacal constellation of Cancer the Crab. Wait until about an hour after sunset and use binoculars or a wide-field telescope at low magnification to detect big Messier 44, the Beehive Cluster, as a faint sprinkling of stars less than a degree to the lower left of Venus, a lovely sight.

Mars

Mars is finally creeping out of the sun's glow after hiding there since last August. On June 12, shortly after 4 a.m. local daylight time, Mars will be situated about 7 degrees to the lower left of a slender crescent moon, itself riding low in the east-northeast sky.

Racing across Aries into Taurus by June 20, fans of the red planet will be glad to hear that in late June, it begins to rise a little before the start of morning twilight. On June 29, Mars (shining at magnitude +1.3) passes 4½ degrees to the lower right of the Pleiades. By then, it will be rising about 2¼ hours before the sun.

Jupiter

Jupiter keeps appearing lower in the dusk each night as it's getting ready to relinquish its six-month run as the most prominent evening planet. The month kicks off with Jupiter and Venus attracting attention in the west-northwest sky at dusk. These two brightest planets are separated by about 8 degrees on June 1, with Jupiter positioned to the upper left of Venus. But that gap will close noticeably in the nights ahead. By June 7, they will be poised impressively side by side at nightfall, with far more brilliant Venus about 2.5 degrees to the right of Jupiter.

By the next evening, Venus is upper right of Jupiter and has pulled to within just 1.8 degrees. They are closest together, only 1.6 degrees apart, on June 9. In a telescope, Jupiter appears around 2½ times wider than Venus, but of much lower surface brightness. Even though the clouds of both planets are highly reflective, Venus is about seven times closer to the sun, where the intensity of sunlight is much greater. The big planet will vanish into the evening twilight during early July as it transitions from the evening to the morning sky on July 29.

Saturn

Saturn rises so late, around 3 a.m. local daylight time on June 1, and about 2 hours earlier by month's end — that you're better off going out at dawn when it's well up in the southeast sky. It's located near the border separating the constellations Pisces and Cetus and on the morning of June 10 you will find it hovering about 5 degrees below and slightly to the right of a waning crescent moon. It's looking like Saturn once again, displaying its rings at a tilt of better than 8½ degrees after their edgewise presentation last year.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

The best planets to view this month are in the evening sky. Jupiter has been by far the best planet to observe both with the naked eye as well as through binoculars and telescopes these past several months, but its time is running out as it descends noticeably down the western sky during May. It continues to be placed near the "Twin Stars" of Gemini (Pollux and Castor) and the addition of a crescent moon passing by on May 20 makes for a rather attractive sky picture.

Although lower in the western sky, Venus shines about seven times brighter than Jupiter, yet continues to be rather disappointing in telescopes. Its gibbous disk appears small and featureless. With the naked eye and especially through good binoculars, its conjunction with a slender crescent moon on May 18 will be very pleasing to see. Earthshine will make the view seem almost three-dimensional.

Toward the end of the month, a third bright planet — Mercury — will begin to make its presence felt near the west-northwest horizon shortly after sunset.

As far as Saturn and Mars are concerned, the latter is gradually becoming easier to see in the morning sky, rising in the east just as dawn is breaking. Mars, which has been dawdling in the bright morning twilight since the start of 2026, continues to be a difficult object to spot, although you might be able to make use of a skinny crescent moon to lead you to it on May 14.

Mercury

Mercury is at superior conjunction on May 14. In fact, the speedy planet is occulted (hidden) by the sun's disk, but of course, this event is unobservable. Can you see it within a week after conjunction? Of magnitude -1.4 (as bright as Sirius) on May 22, it will be 10 degrees east of the sun and will follow it below the western horizon by about 55 minutes.

Using binoculars, begin looking a quarter hour after sundown, low in the west-northwest. By May 25, a magnitude -1.1 Mercury should be an easy naked-eye object. By the end of May, it will be obvious to spot, around 45 minutes after sunset, a negative magnitude "star" sitting well above the western horizon by roughly the width of a fist at arm's length. The peak of Mercury's apparition (for latitude 40 degrees north) and its greatest elongation from the sun don't occur until the middle of June.

Venus

Venus hangs at practically the same height, moderately low in the west-northwest during evening twilight throughout the month of May. It shines at a dazzling magnitude of -4.0 but isn't especially interesting through a telescope yet. It still presents a small gibbous disk; 84 percent illuminated at midmonth. On May 18, nearly two days past new, a slender crescent moon, 7% illuminated, sits about 2.5 degrees to the right of Venus.

Mars

Mars languishes low in morning twilight for the fifth month in a row. Look for it coming up a little to the left of due east as twilight brightens. On the morning of May 14, the 8% sliver of the waning moon will be positioned about 7½ degrees to the upper right of the red planet.

At magnitude +1.2, Mars is difficult to see through the bright twilight, but this morning, with the moon's help, binoculars may be useful for sighting it, especially from latitudes higher than 35 degrees north.

Jupiter

Jupiter, as darkness falls, will be roughly one-third up from the western horizon to the point directly overhead. This is the last month (until September) in which this biggest of planets is high enough in a dark sky to permit crisp telescopic views of its cloud patterns and four big satellites. After the moon engages with Venus on May 18, look westward on May 20 to see a wider (24%-illuminated) crescent moon and about 7 degrees to its lower right will be brilliant (magnitude -1.9) Jupiter, which will set at around midnight local daylight time. Toward the end of the month, take note of how Venus appears to be creeping up toward Jupiter from the lower right.

Saturn

Saturn, lurking near the border of the constellations Cetus the Whale and Pisces the Fishes, sneaks up in the east around the start of morning twilight. Early on the morning of May 13, you can catch it sitting about a half-dozen degrees to the lower left of a slender waning crescent moon.

Saturn's famous ring system is opening into view again, but the planet is still too low before sunrise for us to get a steady view. At least we can expect good things in the coming months and years. After spending 15 years at southerly declinations, Saturn has now edged north across the celestial equator, meaning we'll be seeing it at increasingly higher altitudes when it crosses the meridian in the years to come.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

Of the five bright naked-eye planets, the two most favorably positioned for viewing during April are in the evening sky. Dazzling Venus, low in the west-northwest for about two hours after sunset, and brilliant Jupiter, which soars high in the south-southwest at dusk and remains visible until well after midnight, accompanied by the "Twin Stars" of Gemini the Twins, Pollux and Castor.

The other planets, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, remain quite low to the east-southeast horizon and mired in the bright light of the advancing dawn, making all three rather difficult to see. Binoculars will certainly be beneficial in making a sighting of one or all of these worlds. Saturn will make some progress in increasing its altitude and edging into a somewhat darker background sky, but not until the end of the month.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here, we present a schedule below which provides some of the best planet viewing times, as well as directing you to where to look to see them.

Mercury

Mercury is at its greatest western elongation on April 3. But while it ranges as far out as 28 degrees from the sun as viewed from mid-northern latitudes, this is mostly directly off to the sun's right, placing the planet quite low above the horizon. This +0.3-magnitude planet rises less than an hour before sunrise and shortly after coming above the horizon might be located with binoculars about 10 degrees south of the due east point. Only from the more southerly states is the planet likely to be visible to the naked eye. The vantage from which Mercury is best seen at this apparition is from the Southern Hemisphere. Around midmonth, Mercury will be near Mars and Saturn (see "Mars" below).

Venus

Venus is popularly regarded as the "sister planet" because it's similar in size and gets a little higher each week during April. It remains small and roundish in telescopes this month, but from early April until early September, Venus will be at least 10 degrees above the horizon 45 minutes after sunset (though never very high), and during that period, we will see its disk grow and enter its crescent phase.

On the evening of April 18, soon after sunset, look low toward the west-northwest for a view of a slender 1½-day old crescent moon, just 4% illuminated. And situated about a half-dozen degrees to its upper left is the steady, dazzling light of Venus. On the evening of April 23, Venus makes its closest approach to the Pleiades star cluster, passing about 3½ degrees to their lower left, making for a lovely sight in binoculars. And on that same evening, Venus passes just three-quarters of a degree to the right of the sixth-magnitude Uranus; a rather close approach will serve as a convenient opportunity for identifying this greenish world in a small telescope or binoculars without the need to consult a sky map.

Mars

Mars is in the same vicinity as Mercury and Saturn and increases its elongation to 24 degrees west of the sun by month's end. But at magnitude +1.2, it will be the most difficult of the three morning planets to find in the bright twilight.

On what date will Mars first be seen with the naked eye? Since the planet's elongation is increasing so slowly, the answer is difficult to predict, but southerly observers will succeed sooner. On the morning of April 16, observers closer to the tropics will be treated to a pre-sunrise grouping of Saturn, Mercury, Mars and a very narrow crescent moon. The farther south you are, the higher these four objects will be. Search with binoculars before sunrise.

Jupiter

Jupiter, after Venus, is the first star-like object that appears at dusk, glimmering high in the west through much of this month, with the two leading stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, floating even higher above it. This, the largest of all the planets, offers telescope users fine views for several hours after sunset. On the evening of April 22, a fat crescent moon will appear about 3 degrees above and to the right of Jupiter.

Saturn

Saturn at magnitude +0.9, finally begins appearing out from behind the sun in late April's dawn glow. By month's end, it rises ahead of the sun by about an hour, but you'll still have to look very low in the east to get even a fleeting glimpse of it before it gets overwhelmed by the brightening sky. Around midmonth, Saturn will be near Mars and Mercury (see "Mars" above).

If you're looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, our guides for the best binocular deals and the best telescope deals can help. Our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can help you get ready to capture the next stunning skywatching event.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

After a "celestial sabbatical" of a few months, Venus is gradually coming back into view. Look for it very low in the western sky about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. It will become increasingly more obvious as the month progresses as it slowly pulls away from the vicinity of the sun.

Jupiter is by far the best planet to observe during March, soaring high into the sky and visible for much of the night. Saturn will be bidding us a fond adieu before it passes through solar conjunction during the final week of March, passing relatively close to Venus early in the month. Meanwhile, Mercury and Mars are out of the loop as far as viewing is concerned, being positioned much too close to the sun to be readily seen all through this month.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Below, we present a schedule that provides some of the best planet viewing times as well as telling you where to look to see them.

SPECIAL NOTE: Daylight Saving Time returns on March 8, the second Sunday in March. Except in the states of Arizona and Hawaii, and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, clocks are to be moved forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. The mnemonic is: "Spring forward, Fall back."

The sun

On March 20, at 10:46 a.m. EDT, the sun appears to cross the celestial equator moving north. Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mercury

Mercury is now unviewable, as this tiny orb swings through inferior conjunction with the sun on March 7.

Venus

Gleaming at a brilliant magnitude -3.9, Venus is beginning to become more evident in the early evening sky. In fact, during the first week of March, some might report a bright "UFO" hovering just above the western horizon right after the sun has gone down. Yet, by the time the sky becomes dark enough for other stars to appear, the bright object is gone.

Since early December, Venus has been positioned too close to the sun to be seen. Since late February, however, it has been slowly edging away from the sun, becoming briefly visible just before it sets in bright twilight. At the beginning of the month, it is setting one hour after the sun. During March, Venus will set about 1.3 minutes later each evening, so that by month's end it will be more obvious, setting more than 1.5 hours after sunset and right around the end of evening twilight.

On the evening of March 8, Venus will be accompanied by a companion, the planet Saturn, which itself can be glimpsed very low in the west during dusk in the opening days of March. On March 8, these two worlds will be separated by just one degree, with Saturn situated to Venus' lower left, though shining only about one-hundredth as bright.

On the evening of March 19, about 45 minutes after sunset, look low toward the western horizon to sight an exceedingly narrow (1% illuminated) crescent moon. At any age under 24 hours (such as this particular case) the moon appears breathtakingly thin and barely brighter than the sky around it. As such, binoculars will be beneficial in making a successful sighting. About 7 degrees to its upper left shines Venus. Tomorrow evening, a somewhat wider (5%) lunar crescent will have shifted to a position about 7 degrees above Venus. As bright and imposing as Venus appears to the eye, telescopically it is boring this month, appearing as nothing more than a small, shaky (albeit dazzling) round dot.

Mars

Mars is still too near the sun to be seen easily in March.

Jupiter

Jupiter, the solar system's biggest planet, is near the meridian high in the south when it first gleams through the fading daylight after sunset. After darkness falls and with Venus setting less than 90 minutes after sunset, Jupiter shines in the middle of Gemini as the brightest "star" in the sky, while Gemini swings westward and rotates into an upright position to set feet-first. Jupiter itself goes down a few hours before local sunrise. On March 26, Jupiter will shine well to the lower right of that evening's waxing gibbous moon.

Saturn

Saturn is soon lost in the solar glare and reaches conjunction with the sun on March 25. Perhaps your best chance to get a glimpse of it will come on March 8, when it is passing close to Venus (see Venus above). Unfortunately, our telescopic view of Saturn's rings tilting rapidly back into view will be greatly distorted by atmospheric turbulence near the horizon.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

Editor's note: Due to an editor's error, the wrong version of this story was posted originally. The correct version was posted at 8:50 p.m. ET on March 3.

Four bright planets are visible together in the night sky this month in what NASA calls a "planetary parade" that is a must-see for stargazers.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will each take a star turn in the night sky in January (Mars will be its closest to Earth of the year this weekend), so if you're wondering what some of the more striking bright "stars" in the sky are this month, they may actually be planets.

"In January, you'll have the opportunity to take in four bright planets in a sweeping view" said Preston Dyches of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a video guide to January's night sky. "These multi-planet viewing opportunities aren't super rare, but they don't happen every year so it's worth checking out."

All month long, Saturn and Venus will shine bright in the southwestern sky just after sunset and for the first hours of nighttime, Dyches said.

Jupiter, meanwhile, will shine bright in high in the overhead sky all night long. Mars will rise in the eastern sky during the night, and can look a ruddy red color in telescopes and binoculars. (If you're looking for gear to see the planets, check out our best telescopes guide and best binoculars overview for tips on what to use.)

While the four planets will appear to line up in the night sky, this so-called "alignment" is nothing new, Dyches said.

"While it's true that they will appear more or less along a line across the sky, that's what planets always do," he added. "That line is called the ecliptic, and it represents the planet of the solar system in which the planets orbit around the sun."

Because the planets are all in the same relative plane, they can appear to shine close to each other from our point of view on Earth.

Venus and Saturn, for example, will appear extremely close to one another on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 in what astronomers call a planetary conjunction. That meet up of Venus and Saturn is one of several must-see events on our night sky must-see list for January.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn may offer dazzling views this month, but they're not the only planets in the night sky. They're just the most visible, Dyches said.

"Uranus and Neptune are there, too, technically," Dyches explained in the video. "But they don't appear as bright planets." You will need a telescope to find both gas giants in the night sky, he advised.

Editor's Note: If you snap a good photo of Venus, Mars, Saturn or Jupiter and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Should your local weather forecast suggest that Monday morning (May 22) will be fair and clear, it will be well worth setting your alarm clock to awaken you about an hour before sunrise. If you head outside at that early hour — and if you have a clear and unobstructed view toward the east — you will be treated to a lovely pairing of the two brightest objects in the night sky: the moon and Venus. 

You'll immediately notice the crescent moon. Appearing as slender sliver, the moon's disk will be illuminated just 16 percent by sunlight. Hovering to the upper left of the lunar crescent will be the planet Venus, shining like a brilliant silvery-white celestial lantern of magnitude -4.6 on the brightness scale used by astronomers.

The two objects will be separated by roughly 3.5 to 4 degrees, which is roughly equal to less than one-half the apparent width of your fist held out at arm's length. This won't be an exceptionally close approach between these two object, but their great brilliance makes them an eye-catching sight in the early morning sky. Mercury will also be visible very low on the eastern horizon to the lower left of both objects. [The Brightest Planets of the May Night Sky]

Of course what we'll see it an illusion of perspective. The moon is 229,000 miles (369,000 kilometers) from Earth, while Venus is 243 times farther away at 55.7 million miles (89.6 million km).  Venus will arrive at its greatest western elongation — its greatest angular distance west of the sun — on June 3. But it will slowly get higher in the eastern morning sky right on through the first half of the summer. Currently, Venus is rising two hours before the sun, but by the third week of July that will have increased to three hours. 

And Venus will shine at nearly the same brilliance for a number of mornings to come.

Venus currently rises in the east at 3:45 a.m. your local time. The eerie, low glimmering of Venus  is a harbinger of daybreak, which will begin only minutes later. In a telescope, Venus's illuminated portion has fattened to almost half full.

And once you know where Venus is relative to the moon, see if you can see the planet after the sun has come up. You should have no problem glimpsing it in the daytime; appearing as a a tiny white speck against the blue sky.

Incidentally, on Monday the moon will be not be within one of the 12 zodiacal signs. Rather it will be just within the border of the constellation Cetus, the Whale. Because the moon is not always positioned exactly on the ecliptic (its orbit is tilted slightly relative to the orbital plane of Earth), it sometimes can stray into constellations immediately adjacent to the traditional zodiacal signs and Monday will be one of those occasions.

As it is Cetus, what you’ve just read might be considered a whale of a tale!

Editor's note: If you capture an amazing photo of Venus and the moon that you'd like to share with Space.com for a story or photo gallery, send images and comments to us at spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Fios1 News in Rye Brook, NY. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

The "elusive planet" Mercury kicks off the month in the midst of its best evening apparition of 2015. But Mercury isn't the only visible planet this month.

Jupiter, "King of the Planets," sits high in the southwest as darkness falls and remains in good position for telescopic viewing until after midnight. Venus reaches the pinnacle of its evening visibility, not setting until almost the middle of the night.

But the most beautiful spectacle is provided by Saturn, which comes into view low in the southeast after evening twilight ends. Check out Saturn with a small telescope and you'll be treated with the best view of its famous ring system in more than a decade. Read on below to see our picks for the best planet views in the May night sky.  [Astronomy Gear Guide: Tools and Tips to Get Started]

Here, we present a schedule that provides some of the best planet-viewing times and provides tips and tricks to spot them.

May 7– Mercury has taken a superb leap into the evening sky. On May 7, it arrives at its greatest eastern elongation of 21 degrees (remember your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees). 

Just 2 degrees to its right you may be able to spot the Pleiades. Have you ever seen this wintertime cluster in the evening so late in spring? Its conjunction with the sun will occur May 20. As it swings to the near side of the sun, Mercury fades about 0.16 magnitude per day. So the earlier this month you look, the easier it will be. You'll have quite a bit of difficulty after May 14. Inferior conjunction will be on May 30.

Also in the western sky is dazzling Venus, which reaches the peak of its fine evening apparition in May, burning prominently in the west during twilight and long after dark. All month, Venus stands due west almost 40 degrees high at sunset (for observers around 40 degrees north latitude). How soon after sunset – or even before! – can you first pick it out of the deepening blue?

Brightening from a blazing magnitude -4.2 to -4.4 this month, Venus seems to swell enormously as twilight fades, and all through May it remains shining in a dark sky for about 1.5 hours after twilight's end.  Telescopes reveal Venus swelling somewhat while waning in its gibbous phase.  By the end of May it's hardly more than half lit.

May 9 –Venus passes less than 2 degrees from the star cluster M35 in the feet of Gemini.

May 21– Despite being widely separated by more than 8 degrees, Venus and the crescent moon still make for an eye-catching scene in the west-northwest sky. Venus is situated far to the upper right of the moon.

May 22 –Saturn becomes the second planet this year to reach opposition, that is, to be opposite to the sun in our sky. It rises in twilight for most of May and is visible for the rest of the night. Saturn is 10 degrees northwest of the red star Antares, and is shining at magnitude 0.0, unusually bright for this faintest of the five classical naked-eye planets. The reason is that its rings are tilted 24 degrees toward us, presenting a larger-than-usual profile. The rings will be tilted to their maximum extent of 27 degrees in 2017.

May 23 – Standing high above the wide crescent moon this evening is Jupiter, the second brightest "evening star." It shines at Venus' upper left. The two are 50 degrees apart at the beginning of May, but close to 21 degrees by month's end. It's easy to find, owing to its brightness. As soon as the sky starts getting dark, this planet, near magnitude -2.0, comes into sight high in the west. Jupiter remains beautifully placed for telescopic viewing at nightfall.

May 30– Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the sun and enters the morning sky.

Editor's note:If you snap an amazing photo of the planets in May's night sky, and would like to share them with Space.com for a story or gallery, let us know! Send photos and comment in to: spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.