Let us see how to find bright planets in the sky tonight. Don’t worry! It is painless to find these riches above the sky. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be seen by our naked eyes. You just have to snatch them at the perfect hour. They just appear as bright lights, yet they shine steadier than most stars.
- Venus – The morning star and the Evening Sun. It is named after the Roman goddess of love. Spot the celestial at 48 degrees away from the sun and can be seen brightly a little less than three hours after sunset or before dawn. March is the perfect month to catch the beauty of Venus. Snatch it this March 26.
- Mars – Named after the Roman god of war, can be brightly seen in January and slowly fades as the year unfolds. It can be seen as a red star at night after dusk; then it descends gradually westward until midnight.
- You can spot Jupiter and Saturn just 45 to 60 minutes after sundown. The mighty Saturn sits just above Jupiter. They could be best seen in January. Jupiter in Roman mythology is the god of skies and heavens. He is the son of Saturn, who is the god of wealth and agriculture.
Now, you can also locate these beaming stars and let them navigate you at nightfall.
Sirius A (Alpha Canis Majoris)- Also known as the “Dog Star” To locate Sirius A, first, we need to point the three belt stars of Orion. You can see that the three stars are pointing downward lower left to a bright star. That is the “Bright Dog Star”. It is part of the constellation “Canis Majoris” or “the greater dog”
Canopus (Alpha Carinae)- To look for Canopus, search for a clear night. You can use the Great Winter Triangle and the Sirius as guides. Look down from Sirius to the Southern horizon and you will find Canopus.
Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri) – Do you know that Rigel Kentaurus is the third brightest star in the night sky. Its name means “the foot of the Centaur” because it is part of the constellation Alpha Centauri). It is visible only in the far southern sky and is part of the Alpha Centaur as the third brightest point in the sky.
Arcturus (Alpha Booti)- This bright red giant star falls between the diamond of Virgo, the Kite, and the Big Dipper and can be found in the Northern Hemisphere. It is part of the constellation, the Bootis, or the “Herdsman.”
Vega (Alpha Lyrae)- It is interesting to note that Vega comes from the Arabic word “woqi” which means “falling’ or “swooping”. It was said that in ancient times it was referred to as the swooping vulture. You could see Vega as a very prominent blue-white light in the midsummer nights as it sits just above the mid-northern latitudes. You could locate Lyra as a box-shaped in a parallelogram with a small triangle at its end. The constellation is also close to another constellation Cygnus, “the swan.”
