With Venus and Jupiter beginning to drift apart after their tryst on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the “planet parade” building in the east before sunrise is starting to spread out. Best seen about an hour before dawn, Venus and Jupiter — both shining very brightly and immediately apparent to the naked eye — can be seen above the eastern horizon while Saturn is shining in the south. Although you may struggle to see it until just before sunrise, Mercury is below Venus and Jupiter and will get higher each morning this week. Uranus and Neptune are also in the sky, but neither is visible to the naked eye.
Venus and Jupiter were in close conjunction in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, Aug. 12, separated by just 0.9 degrees. By Thursday, Aug. 14, they will be about two degrees apart.
Best seen at least an hour before sunrise, Venus and Jupiter will be very bright in the eastern sky. Dimmer Saturn will be visible in the southern sky.
Mercury will be visible just above the eastern horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise. The “Swift Planet” is not easy to see because it appears below 10 degrees altitude, according to NASA. It will be farthest from the sun (and, therefore, highest in the sky) on Aug. 19 and remain visible until around Aug. 26.
On the left of Venus and Jupiter will be Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini, while to the lower-right of the planets will be Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation.
The following “planet parade” will happen during October 2028, when five planets will be visible together, again before sunrise.
It's easy to tell a planet from a star because while stars twinkle, planets do not. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury will all shine with a steady light, while stars twinkle due to atmospheric distortion. Venus and Jupiter are also much brighter than any of the stars in the sky. The five naked eye planets in the solar system — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — can all be easily observed without a telescope. Uranus and Neptune require at least large binoculars and typically a telescope.
The “planet parade” will be bolstered this weekend and into next week not only by a more easily visible Mercury, but by a waning crescent moon. On Monday, Aug. 18, a 26% crescent moon will be seen near Venus and Jupiter. On Tuesday, Aug. 19, Mercury will be at its highest in the morning sky as a 16%-lit crescent moon forms a curve with Venus and Jupiter. On Wednesday, Aug. 20, a 9%-lit crescent moon will be close to Venus, with Mercury below and Jupiter above. On Thursday, Aug. 21, a 4%-lit waning crescent moon will be beneath Jupiter and Venus, close to Mercury.