| 2024 Aug-Dec: The Five Planet Challenge (2023-12-29) ⬅︎ |
Question: of the seven planets in our Solar System besides Earth, how many are typically visible on a clear night?
Answer: If you said, two or three, then you’re right.
That’s why the last five months of 2024 offer a very cool challenge for stargazers: on some nights it will be possible to view five planets at the same time. If you are interested in adding this rare feat to your list of stargazing accomplishments, then read on…
The five planets include Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. What will make viewing all five so challenging is that they vary greatly in brightness from super bright to extremely dim. Here’s a chart to explain things:
| Planet |
Brightness (Magnitude) |
Compared to Jupiter |
Viewing |
| Jupiter |
-2.0 |
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Super easy to find naked-eye |
| Mars |
+1.0 |
16x dimmer |
Easy to find naked-eye if you know where to look |
| Saturn |
+1.0 |
16x dimmer |
Easy to find naked-eye if you know where to look |
| Uranus |
+5.8 |
1300x dimmer |
Binocular or telescope usually required |
| Neptune |
+7.9 |
9000x dimmer |
Binocular or telescope always required |
You’ll need a good viewing location with dark skies and a view of the ecliptic — the arc that stretches across our sky from east to west and forms the path of the planets in our sky. For more info, see Brightness and Ecliptic.
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Finding Jupiter
Finding this giant planet naked-eye could hardly be easier…. it is the brightest object in the night sky other than the Moon and Venus. Simply look for a very bright object on the nights listed below.
While eyes are enough, a binocular can reveal its four largest moons and a telescope can reveal the moons, banding, and the Great Red Spot when conditions allow.
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Finding Mars
Mars is easy to find naked-eye because of its bright orange-red color. To make it really easy, Mars will be close to Jupiter on the nights listed below. But don’t confuse it with the red stars Aldebaran in Taurus and Betelgeuse in Orion.
Your eyes are enough but a binocular will enlarge its disk while a telescope can reveal polar icecaps and volcanoes when conditions allow.
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Finding Saturn
Although this planet is similar in brightness to Mars, its color is a yellow-beige. It is easy to find naked-eye if you look in the right direction using the charts below. It will remain in Aquarius throughout this challenge.
Your eyes are enough but a binocular can reveal that it is not round while a telescope can reveal its magnificent rings, bands and some moons when conditions allow.
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Finding Uranus
This elusive world is the most distant naked-eye planet. Ancient stargazers never realized it was a planet because it moves so very slowly. Unless you are viewing from a very dark location, you'll need a binocular or telescope.
Use the Finding Uranus in 2024 to learn how to star hop to Uranus.
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Finding Neptune
Neptune is the only planet that cannot be seen naked-eye -- it requires optical aid like a binocular or telescope. It moves even slower than Uranus and will take until 2040 to pass through Pisces into Aries.
Use the Finding Neptune in 2024 to learn how to star hop to Neptune.
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This challenge lasts from early August to the end of December. Not every clear night is good though: if the moon is above the horizon, its bright light will make it very difficult if not impossible for you to spot Uranus and Neptune. So times with the moon above the horizon have been excluded.
What remains are six sets of nights, each a week or longer, and each with a chart below. The first four involve very early morning hours — yes, tough. But the last two involve evening hours so you may want to focus on those. And there’s a special surprise with the last one.
Chart 1: Aug 3 - 17
| When | Aug 3 - 17, 3:55am (± 15 minutes) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the E horizon (Taurus) |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars W of Jupiter before the 14th and then E after that. Don’t confuse it with the red star Aldebaran. (Taurus) |
| Saturn | Look high above the S horizon for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Chart 2: Aug 31 - Sep 15
| When | Aug 31 - Sep 15, 3:15am (± 15 minutes) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the ESE horizon (Taurus) |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars E of Jupiter. Don’t confuse it with the red stars Aldebaran or Betelgeuse. (Taurus/Gemini) |
| Saturn | Look high above the SW horizon for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Chart 3: Oct 5 - 12
| When | Oct 5 - 12, 2:00am (± 15 minutes) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the ESE horizon (Taurus) |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars E of Jupiter. Don’t confuse it with the red stars Aldebaran or Betelgeuse. (Gemini) |
| Saturn | Look high above the SW horizon for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Chart 4: Oct 25 - Nov 8
| When | Oct 25 - Nov 8, 12:40am (± 15 minutes) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the SE horizon (Taurus) |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars E of Jupiter (Gemini/Cancer) |
| Saturn | Look high above the SW horizon for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Chart 5: Nov 21 - Dec 6
| When | Nov 21 - Dec 6, 10:10pm (± 15 minutes) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the SE horizon (Taurus) |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars E of Jupiter (Cancer) |
| Saturn | Look high above the SW horizon for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Chart 6: Dec 9 - 31: Special 6 Planet Challenge
| When | Dec 9 - 31, 8:00pm (± 45 minutes) |
| Venus | Look for the brightest object low above the W horizon (Capricornus) |
| Jupiter | Look for the brightest object above the SE horizon (Taurus). Jupiter is not as bright as Venus. |
| Mars | Look for moderately bright, orange-red Mars low in the E (Cancer) |
| Saturn | Look E of Venus for moderately bright Saturn (Aquarius) |
| Uranus | Use this link: Finding Uranus in 2024 (Taurus) |
| Neptune | Use this link: Finding Neptune in 2024 (Pisces) |
Wishing you good luck and clear skies!
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