Planets

solar system planets

Astronomy explained The Planets

Jupiter and Saturn looking southeast around 03:00 BST (02:00 UT) at the start of June 02:00 BST (01:00 UT) mid-month, and 01:00 BST (00:00 UT) at the end of June. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing guide See the planets in the night sky, June 2021

Mercury and Venus will be good planetary targets to observe during May 2021. Credit: Pete Lawrence. during May

Observing guide How to see the planets, May 2021

Mercury and Venus appear close from 24-26 May. They’re just over a degree apart on 25 May. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing How to see the planets in April

How to make a mobile Solar System for a child's bedroom. Step 7

Make a Solar System mobile for kids

How to photograph the planets. Credit: JULIAN74 / Getty Images / iStock

Astrophotography guides

Astrophotography guide How to photograph the planets

How to see the planets in the night sky March 2021. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing guide How to see the planets throughout March 2021

A view of Uranus captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006. Credit: NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute

How was Uranus discovered?

A dark storm spotted on Neptune by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and L.A. Sromovsky and P.M. Fry (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Eye On The Sky Strange dark storms spotted on planet Neptune

How to see the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 21 December 2020. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Great Conjunction See Jupiter and Saturn's planetary 'kiss', 21 December

Jupiter, Mars and Saturn imaged at ESO's La Silla Observatory in the Atacama desert. Credit: ESO

Eye On The Sky Jupiter, Mars, Saturn imaged at La Silla Observatory

How to see Uranus, Mars and the other planets in the night sky, November 2020

Observing guide How to see the planets in the night sky: November 2020

To locate Pluto you’ll need to record stars down to mag. +15.0 (see inset). Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing guide How to spot Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in the night sky

How to the see planets in October 2020. Mars lies in Pisces throughout the opposition period. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing guide How to see the planets in the night sky, October 2020

Scientists have found similarities in the shapes of channels created on Mars (right) and those formed by glacier meltwater in Earth’s Arctic region (left). Credit: Cal-Tech CTX mosaic and MAXAR/Esri

Mars valleys may have been formed by melting glaciers