What Planets Are Visible Tonight?

Which planets you can see tonight from your location, where to look and at what time, plus every planet alignment (planet parade) in the next 12 months. Calculated in your browser, no sign-up.

Calculating tonight's sky…

PlanetTonightWhen & where to lookRise / setMag.How to see

Times are local to the chosen place. Lower magnitude = brighter. A planet counts as visible once it is 5° above the horizon after dusk.

Planet alignments in the next 12 months

Planet parades: nights when 4 or more naked-eye planets are above the horizon together in a dark sky, for your location.

Close conjunctions

Two planets passing within 2° of each other, about four Moon-widths.

How It Works

Pure astronomy maths in your browser: no API, no account.

1

Pick your location

Search for a city or use your device location. Planet visibility depends on latitude and longitude, so a planet that is high in Sydney can be low or hidden in London. Until you choose, the page shows New York.

2

Read tonight's list

For each planet the tool samples the whole night every 10 minutes and reports when it is at least 5° up after dusk, when it is highest, which compass direction to face and how bright it is.

3

Scrub the sky chart

Drag the time slider to watch the planets move across tonight's sky along the ecliptic. It starts at the moment the most planets are up at once.

4

Plan for alignments

The tool checks every night of the next year for planet parades and close conjunctions, so you can mark the dates. Check the cloud forecast and the moon phase before heading out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What planets are visible tonight?
Which planets are visible tonight depends on where you are and the date. The tool at the top of this page works it out for your location: it lists each planet as up now, visible tonight, too close to the Sun, or below the horizon, with the best time to look, the compass direction and how high it will be. Up to five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) can be seen with the naked eye; Uranus needs binoculars and Neptune a telescope.
What is a planet alignment or planet parade?
A planet alignment, often called a planet parade, is when several planets are above the horizon at the same time and appear strung along one arc of the sky. They are not in a straight line in space; they look lined up because all the planets orbit close to the same plane, so from Earth they always sit near one path across the sky called the ecliptic. This page counts it as a parade when four or more naked-eye planets are up together while the sky is dark.
When is the next planet alignment?
The Planet alignments section scans the next 12 months for your location and lists every window when four or more naked-eye planets are above the horizon together in a dark sky, with the peak night, the time to look and which planets take part. It also lists close conjunctions, when two planets pass within 2 degrees of each other. Both alignments and conjunctions are easiest to see away from city lights, in the hour or two after sunset or before sunrise.
How do I tell a planet from a star?
Planets usually shine with a steady light while stars twinkle, and the bright planets are often among the brightest points in the sky. They also always sit close to the ecliptic, the dashed line on the sky chart. Venus is the brightest after the Moon, Jupiter is bright and creamy white, Mars has a distinct orange-red colour and Saturn is a steady pale yellow. To learn more about each world, see The Planets.
How accurate are the times?
Positions come from Astronomy Engine, an open-source library accurate to within about an arcminute, computed in your browser for your exact coordinates. Rise and set times include atmospheric refraction. Hills, buildings and haze near the horizon can hide a planet for longer than the numbers suggest, so the tool only counts a planet as visible tonight once it is at least 5 degrees up in a dark sky.

Related space & sky tools

Sky Explorer

Explore an interactive deep-sky map of stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies from your browser.

Space & sky

→

Eclipse Tracker

When is the next eclipse? Every solar and lunar eclipse for 10 years, with a visibility map, path of totality and local times.

Space & sky

→

Starlink Tracker

Every Starlink satellite live on a world map, the newest launches and when the Starlink train passes over you.

Space & sky

→

ISS Tracker

Follow the International Space Station live as it orbits, with its ground track and pass times.

Space & sky

→

Aurora Forecast

Will you see the northern lights tonight? A live aurora map from NOAA’s OVATION model, with the current Kp index and a check for your location.

Space & sky

→

Asteroid Tracker

See near-Earth asteroids passing by, with their size, distance and close-approach dates.

Space & sky

→

3D Solar System

An interactive 3D orrery showing the planets at their real positions today, orbiting in real time — drag to explore and click a planet for facts.

Space & sky

→

The Planets

Explore all eight planets — facts, size, distance, day length and temperature — each with a live rotating 3D view.

Space & sky

→

NASA Eyes

Fly through NASA’s live 3D visualization of the solar system, Earth and near-Earth asteroids, straight from NASA/JPL.

Space & sky

→

Moon Phase

Check tonight’s moon phase and illumination, plus the full lunar calendar.

Space & sky

→

Sunrise & Sunset

Find local sunrise, sunset, golden hour and solar noon times for any day.

Space & sky

→

UV Index

See the current and hourly UV index for your location, with burn-time guidance.

Space & sky

→

Eclipse Calendar

Upcoming solar and lunar eclipses, moon phases and weather-code references.

Space & sky

→

Black Hole Simulator

Watch an accretion disk orbit a black hole and read its Schwarzschild radius, photon ring and ISCO — the Milky Way's own centre, Sagittarius A*, is a supermassive one.

Physics

→

Physics Simulations

Interactive labs including a Newtonian gravity orbit simulator — load the Sun–Earth–Moon or the chaotic three-body problem and launch your own planets.

Physics

→

Earth Tools

Back on our own planet — a live disaster map, earthquake, volcano, wildfire, tsunami and drought trackers, a world atlas and climate vital signs.

Earth

→

All Space Tools

ISS tracker, asteroid tracker, live sky map, planet guide and NASA Eyes.

Space

→