The Planets

Except for variable stars and some double stars, most of the objects in Turn Left at Orion remain essentially the same from night to night and year to year. The main exceptions are the Moon and the other objects in our own solar system. To find out about some of the more notable solar system (and other) events that are visible this year, visit the What’s up tonight pages.

The web resources for the planets are organized according to the different classes of solar system objects that can be seen in amateurs’ telescopes. There are two bright planets that have moons and surface features that are easily observed for several months out of every year, Jupiter and Saturn.
For information about them this year, go to The giant planets: Jupiter and Saturn

Two planets only appear in the west after sunset and the east before sunrise: brilliant Venus and elusive Mercury.
For information about them, go to The fast moving planets: Mercury and Venus

One planet, Mars, is usually either invisible or inconspicuous, but sometimes casts a brilliant but ominous red light on our night skies.
For information on observing Mars, go to Mars

The two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are surprisingly easy to observe with a small telescope or even binoculars. In fact, it is becoming increasingly possible to see Uranus with the naked eye under really dark conditions. Each of them shows a small but distinctly colored disk, although their moons are a challenge reserved for larger amateur telescopes.
If you’re interested in information about observing these denizens of the outer solar system, go to the page The far: Uranus and Neptune

Finally, there are other objects out there in the solar system. All but a relatively small number of periodic comets appear unpredictably – all you can do is keep informed and be ready when one arrives. Others, like Pluto, require a larger telescope. Some asteroids are observable with a small telescope or binoculars, and (on special occasions) even with the naked eye.
For more about these dim objects, go to The faint: Asteroids, Comets, and Pluto