Planet or star?

Can we spot planets in the night sky? The easiest is Venus, because it is so bright. After the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky.

Where to look:

• at dawn, near the east, before sunrise;
• at dusk, near the west, after sunset.

That is why Venus is called the Morning Star or the Evening Star.

Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can also be seen with the naked eye (just your eyes, no instrument). But they are so far away that they look like shining dots, just like stars. How do you tell them apart? Stars appear to twinkle a lot; planets twinkle much less.

Many objects in the sky can be seen with our eyes alone, but binoculars or a telescope show them brighter and larger. A telescope also shows many dim objects our eyes cannot see. You may get a chance to look through one at a night-sky-watching event.