Spot the planets

This is a good month to spot the planets, the whole five of them which are visible to the naked eye.

As soon as the sun sets, check the western skies and you will see a very bright star very close to the horizon. This is in fact not a star but the planet closest to the sun, Mercury.

Mercury - Evening of 26th Jan 2014

Next to appear on the skies is Jupiter, the largest of the planets and a gas giant. Check around 7PM towards the eastern sky. Locate Orion and draw a diagonal using the two corner stars of Orion towards North East. Jupiter would be close to that line and will be very bright. In fact, if it is cloudy, Jupiter's might be the only light you can see.

Jupiter - Evening 26th Jan 2014

Mars appears on the sky at around  mid night. But if you wait till around 5:15-5:20 in the morning, it will be directly above your head with a slight reddish tint. The brightest stars you will see around this would be Spica (closest to Mars) and Arcturus.

Mars - Morning 27th Jan 2014

By this time Saturn would be up and between Mars and Moon. Saturn is also a gas giant and the second largest planet in the solar system. It revolves around the sun in an orbit outside Jupiter. Saturn is the furthest planet that was classically identified as planets.

Saturn - Morning 27th Jan 2014

And now we come to the last planet of our list, Venus. It rises from the eastern horizon around 5AM but, here's the best part, is visible in the sky till about 6AM, well in to the twilight. It will be very easy to spot because the only heavenly bodies you see at this time would be the Moon, right above you and Venus, a single bright light in the eastern sky.

Venus - Morning 27th Jan 2014

So there you go, all five planets visible in less than 12 hours. Let us know which ones you manage to catch!