Visible Planets Tonight
Live rise, set, and best viewing times for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
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Planets Tonight from Los Angeles
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Mag | Visibility | Max Alt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 6:06 AM | 4:45 PM | 11:25 AM | 5.9 | Not visible tonight: below the horizon (or too low) while the sky is dark. | -4° |
| Venus | 4:51 AM | 3:43 PM | 10:17 AM | -4.5 | Visible about 0.5 h after dark, highest 10° toward the E. | 10° |
| Mars | 11:39 PM | 1:16 PM | 6:29 AM | 0.8 | Visible about 5.8 h after dark, highest 69° toward the SE. | 69° |
| Jupiter | 12:02 AM | 1:23 PM | 6:43 AM | -2 | Visible about 5.3 h after dark, highest 65° toward the SE. | 65° |
| Saturn | 3:23 PM | 3:37 AM | 9:28 PM | 0.4 | Visible about 9.8 h after dark, highest 57° toward the S. | 57° |
Showing Los Angeles by default (times in America/Los_Angeles). Use "Check another city" for your own location. Visibility means above 5° during the dark window after civil dusk.
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🎓 Educational Guide: Understanding Planet Visibility
Orbital Conjunctions and Oppositions
A planet's visibility depends heavily on its position relative to Earth and the Sun. At opposition, a planet is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, rising at sunset and staying visible all night — generally the best time to observe an outer planet like Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. At conjunction, a planet is aligned closely with the Sun from Earth's point of view and is effectively unobservable, lost in the Sun's glare.
Calculating Apparent Magnitudes
Apparent magnitude measures how bright an object appears from Earth, on a scale where lower (and negative) numbers mean brighter objects. A planet's apparent magnitude changes as its real distance from Earth and its illuminated phase (much like the Moon's phases) both vary throughout its orbit, which is why the same planet can look dramatically brighter or dimmer at different points in the year.
Eliminating Atmospheric Turbulence Refraction
Earth's atmosphere bends and distorts light passing through it, an effect that worsens closer to the horizon, where light travels through more air. This is why planets and stars look steadiest and sharpest when viewed near their highest point in the sky (culmination) rather than low near the horizon, where atmospheric turbulence causes more blurring and twinkling.