What planets are visible tonight, and how to tell a planet from a star

Five planets are visible with your eyes alone: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. On a given night maybe two or three are up at a sensible hour. The trick is knowing which, and when.

Check the timeline first

Planets rise and set like the Sun, and their schedule shifts over weeks. Sky Map has a planet visibility timeline that shows each planet’s window for tonight and the best time to look. Check it before you go outside, not after.

Great

I like the app for its simplicity and features. It worked instantly to see star constellations and planets. Having information on visibility helped a lot to know what I can expect to see and what not.

★★★★★ App Store review, Germany, 8 August 2025, nobody889988 · App Store

Where to look

Planets stay close to the ecliptic, the path the Sun takes across the sky. So they’ll always be roughly along a band from east to west, never near Polaris.

• Venus is the brightest thing in the sky after the Moon. It’s never far from the Sun, so you see it low in the west after sunset or low in the east before dawn.
• Jupiter is bright, white and steady. It can be up most of the night.
• Saturn is yellowish and less bright. Binoculars won’t show the rings, but a small telescope will.
• Mars looks orange-red and changes brightness a lot over its two-year cycle.
• Mercury is low and hard. It shows up briefly near the horizon at dusk or dawn a few times a year.

The twinkle test

Stars twinkle, planets mostly don’t. If a bright point is shining steadily while stars near it flicker, it’s probably a planet. Near the horizon, even planets twinkle a bit, because you’re looking through more air.

Confirm with the phone

Point Sky Map at the bright point and the label tells you. If it’s moving steadily across the sky, it’s a plane or a satellite. Sky Map shows satellites too.

Related: what is that bright star? and meteor showers, the Moon and eclipses.