Planet Visibility Calculator
Which naked-eye planets are up tonight, and where — computed rise, set, and transit times, altitude, approximate magnitude, and honest, conservative visibility for any location and date, from public-domain planetary elements. Your location is used only for the calculation and is never stored.
Planet visibility calculator
ComputedPrivacy: your location is used only for this calculation and is not stored. No browser geolocation or IP lookup is used — coordinates come only from what you type. Leave the date blank for the planets right now.
Enter a latitude and longitude to compute which naked-eye planets are up tonight — their rise, transit, and set times, altitude, and how favourably each is placed. Nothing is shown until you do; no location is assumed.
The naked-eye planets
These are timeless facts about how each planet behaves; tonight's specific rise, set, and visibility for your location are computed in the calculator above from public-domain planetary elements.
- Mercury
- An inner planet; only ever visible low in twilight, briefly after sunset or before sunrise.
- Venus
- The brightest planet; a brilliant 'morning' or 'evening star' near the Sun, never far from twilight.
- Mars
- An outer planet, reddish; brightest and visible all night around opposition, roughly every 26 months.
- Jupiter
- An outer planet; very bright, visible all night around opposition each year.
- Saturn
- An outer planet; steady and golden, best around its yearly opposition.
Uranus and Neptune require binoculars or a telescope (add ?planet=uranus to the API).
Related in the Knowledge Graph
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.
- US Naval ObservatoryUnited States Naval Observatory
Precise time, almanac data, Sun/Moon rise-set, and phases.