Almanac · Planets tonight
Planets tonight
Which of the planets the eye can find are up once the sky is dark, from when to when, and how high they climb. Times are local solar time: your clock may differ by up to an hour or two, by your time zone.
This page was built for the nights up to Thu 24 Dec 2026, which has passed. Tonight works out tonight for your place.
The night of Tue 27 Oct 2026
From 45°N, after dark: Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. For your own place and your own clock, Tonight works it out live.
- Not up after dark Mercury Below the horizon whenever the sky is dark Magnitude +1.2 · See it on the map
- Not up after dark Venus Below the horizon whenever the sky is dark Magnitude −4.3 · See it on the map
- Up after dark Mars 00:00 to dawn; highest 60° up in the SSE at 06:00 Magnitude +0.9 · See it on the map
- Up after dark Jupiter 00:40 to dawn; highest 55° up in the SE at 06:00 Magnitude −2.0 · See it on the map
- Up after dark Saturn Dusk to 04:00; highest 46° up in the S at 22:10 Magnitude +0.4 · See it on the map
Latitude by latitude
Each planet at each latitude: from when to when it stands at least 3° up with the Sun at least 6° down, and how high and in which direction it is at its best. “Low” is under 10°, where a clear, flat horizon is needed.
| Latitude | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60°N | Not up | Not up | 23:20 to dawn, 47° S | 00:10 to dawn, 43° SSE | dusk to 03:50, 31° S |
| 45°N | Not up | Not up | 00:00 to dawn, 60° SSE | 00:40 to dawn, 55° SE | dusk to 04:00, 46° S |
| 30°N | In the haze | Not up | 00:30 to dawn, 69° SE | 01:10 to dawn, 62° ESE | dusk to 04:00, 61° S |
| 15°N | Low, 5° WSW | In the haze | 00:50 to dawn, 70° E | 01:20 to dawn, 64° E | dusk to 04:00, 76° S |
| 0° | Low, 8° WSW | Not up | 01:10 to dawn, 60° NE | 01:40 to dawn, 55° ENE | dusk to 04:00, 88° NE |
| 15°S | Low, 8° WSW | In the haze | 01:30 to dawn, 48° NE | 01:50 to dawn, 45° NE | dusk to 03:50, 74° N |
| 30°S | Low, 9° WSW | In the haze | 01:50 to dawn, 33° NE | 02:10 to dawn, 32° NE | dusk to 03:50, 59° N |
| 45°S | Low, 8° WSW | In the haze | 02:30 to dawn, 18° NE | 02:40 to dawn, 17° NE | dusk to 03:50, 44° N |
How we worked it out: the planets are placed by VSOP87, the planetary theory the map draws, and the Sun by Meeus’s solar theory. Each night is walked every 10 minutes from noon to noon at Greenwich’s longitude. This build holds the nights from Mon 26 Oct 2026 to Thu 24 Dec 2026, and the page shows yours; the tests hold the heights, directions and times to JPL Horizons. The method and its measured error.