An online map of the night sky displays the current positions of stars, planets, the moon, and the sun in the sky.
A bright point next to the Moon can be a star or a planet. You can determine the difference by checking if the object twinkles. If it twinkles, it’s a star; if not, it’s a planet. Moreover, Jupiter and Venus (sometimes also Mars and Saturn) are much brighter than the majority of stars.
What appears to be a shining star is the planet Venus
This planet is visible in the morning sky from January to the end of June when observed from the northern hemisphere. Afterward, Venus spends several weeks out of sight at night, reappearing in the evening sky at the end of October. It plays its role as the evening star until May.
The color distinctions of the planets can be as follows:
- Earth is blue;
- Venus is light yellow;
- Mars is pale pink or light red;
- Jupiter is orange;
- Saturn is golden
To identify an object or determine when objects are closest to your location, use freely available star observation tools – Sky Tonight or Star Walk 2.
