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How to Find the Visible Planets
O cially, there are eight planets and at least three dwarf planets in our solar system. Four of the
planets can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn. (Mercury is close to the sun, so it is very di cult to see. Ceres is too small and Uranus,
Neptune, Pluto and Eris are too far away to see without a high-powered telescope.) As the four
visible planets move in the sky throughout the year, each appears to pass through certain
constellations (the twelve zodiac constellations plus four others) at any given time. This makes it
easy to find them.
The planet position tables on the back page show you where to find the visible planets. Look at
how much a planet changes position and compare that to the planet's distance from the sun.
Notice that the planets farthest from the sun change position more slowly than the planets
closer to the sun. Jupiter spends about a year drifting through a zodiac constellation, while
Saturn takes two years. Meanwhile, Mars and Venus go speeding through the zodiac
constellations.
Learn More About Astronomy
If you want to learn more about the exciting subject of astronomy, check out your school's
library, your local public library, a book store, or the Internet.
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