Four planets now easily visible to the unaided eye in evening sky

We are currently spoilt for choice in which planet to look for in the evening sky. Look above the Western horizon as the evening twilight ends, and you will spot Venus and Jupiter (looking like bright stars to the unaided eye). Mars is above the North Eastern horizon at the end of evening twilight and Saturn rises above the Eastern horizon shortly afterwards.

I have prepared the below charts (using the highly recommended SkySafari Pro Ipad app) have been prepared for Wednesday 21 March 2012. There is nothing special about chosing Wednesday to prepare the charts for – apart from the fact that it might take you a couple of days to stumble across this post. If you find this post before Wednesday, look a few minutes later than the times indicated, and if you find this post later than Wednesday, then look a few minutes earlier. All charts have been prepared for an observer based in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) but will be useful for an observer located elsewhere in Eastern Australia.

Look above the Western horizon to view Venus and Jupiter.

Mars is very obvious above the horizon as a magnitude -1.0 star above the North Eastern horizon at the end of evening twilight. Look a hand and a half width approximately above the horizon for a pale yellow bright star.

Saturn is easily visible if you have a clear Eastern horizon from around 7.30 pm AEST. If you have even just a small telescope, point it at Saturn and you will be rewarded with a view of the rings encircling the planet. The later in the evening you look, the better the view will be as you will be looking through less atmosphere at the planet. We are now at prime Saturn viewing time with opposition for Saturn occurring on 16 April this year.