How to find out what planets and night-sky objects are visible tonight on EarthSky

Updated

Go to the Tonight section of EarthSky.org. It publishes a running guide to currently visible planets and night-sky objects, typically refreshed month by month, so it reflects what is actually up in the sky during the current period rather than a fixed list. The guide names specific targets — for example, the waning gibbous moon near the Pleiades star cluster and the orange star Aldebaran in Taurus — and links out to related sections such as Brightest Stars and Moon Phases when you want more detail on a single object.

Where the guide lives

EarthSky organizes its night-sky content under a Tonight heading, which appears in the site's main navigation. Within that section you'll find the recurring guide (titled something like "Visible planets and night sky guide" for the current month) alongside shorter, dated posts on individual events.

The guide is written and updated by EarthSky's editors and contributors, and each entry carries a date, so you can tell how current it is.

What the guide tells you

A typical edition covers:

  • Which planets are visible and roughly when during the night.
  • The moon's phase and position, including whether it's near a named star cluster or bright star.
  • Specific pairings or close approaches worth looking at — the moon with the Pleiades and Aldebaran is one recurring example.
  • Directional cues, such as looking west for the daytime moon.

Because the guide is tied to the current month, the exact objects change over the year. A planet that's prominent now may drop out of evening visibility a few weeks later.

How to use it

  1. Open the Tonight section from the site's navigation.
  2. Find the current month's visible-planets-and-night-sky guide.
  3. Read the listed targets and note the times and directions given.
  4. If an object interests you, follow the links to related sections — Brightest Stars, Moon Phases, Astronomy Essentials, or Constellations — for background on that specific object.
  5. Check the date on the post before you go outside; an older guide may describe a sky that no longer matches.

Related sections worth knowing

Section What it adds
Brightest Stars Background on prominent stars like Aldebaran
Moon Phases Current and upcoming lunar phases
Astronomy Essentials Explanatory articles on how and when to observe
Constellations Which constellations are up, and where
Space / Sun Spaceflight and solar activity, including aurora forecasts

The Sun section is useful if you're also watching for auroras: EarthSky posts solar news, including coronal mass ejections that may reach Earth and produce G1 (minor) storms and auroras.

Practical notes

  • The guide is a general observational aid, not a personalized forecast — it describes what's visible to a typical observer, so your actual view depends on your location, weather, and light pollution.
  • EarthSky also offers a daily email newsletter covering science news, photos, and sky alerts; the site shows a sign-up form for it. Whether that involves any paid tier isn't stated in the available material, so treat the newsletter as a separate feature from the free-to-read guide.
  • If you want a photo of what others are seeing, the EarthSky Community Photos section collects reader submissions.