Gazing at the planets from beneath a starry sky might be fun, but you can only get a really good look at them if you have a good telescope or some astronomy binoculars, but even when you do, how to you know which is which?

One thing you will need is a star map. This will tell you where to locate the planets and will typically indicate where they are in reference to the constellations.

There are 3 things to keep in mind while searching the sky for planets. By definition, a planet orbit’s the sun and has enough mass to be spherical in shape because of it’s own gravitational force. A planet should also have a clear path around it. A planet is pretty big, but there are other bodies that are just as big but not considered planets because they do not have a clear area around it. Pluto is one such body, which is now considered a dwarf planet.

Looking through your telescope or binoculars you can locate Mercury as the planet closest to the sun. It is very small and light - only 0.055 of the size of earth. A planet with no moons, it completely rotates around the sun every 88 days. You can see Mercury during twilight as an unblinking dot in the sky. Up close, you will see it’s surface is loaded with craters.

Then next planet is Venus, another one with no moons. It’s about the same size as Earth but unlike Earth cannot support life. This is the brightest planet in the sky and can be seen best a couple of hours after sunset or a couple of hours before sun rise.

Mars, the red planet, has two moons and looks like a red dot in the sky. During certain times of the year, this will be the second brightest planet. Beyond Mars, you might see an asteroid belt with the small dwarf planet called Ceres. Sometimes Ceres can actually be seen with the naked eye as a white dot in the sky.

Beyond Mars and the asteroid belt, is where the larger planets are. Unlike the closer planets, these you will not be able to see with the naked eye or even with high powered binoculars. You’ll have to get a telescope to catch a glimpse of them.

Jupiter is the planet right after Mars and has 63 satellites. It is the largest planet - about 1300 times the size of Earth. It is very stormy and gassy - a reddish orange color in your telescope. It is also the fastest rotating planet which gives it a bulge at the equator which can be seen through your telescope.

Saturn, another gassy planet is next. Saturn has rings of ice particles that you can easily view through your telescope along with it’s 56 satellites.

Uranus, the first planet to be discovered with the telescope has 27 satellites and a faint system of rings. It is light blue in color.

Neptune is a blue green color and boasts 13 moons. It also has a ring system and was actually discovered via mathematical predictions as opposed to seeing it in the sky. Pluto and Eris orbit beyond Neptune - these are considered dwarf planets but fun to look at non the less!

Looking for planets is a fun past time and doesn’t really require a lot of expensive equipment because many of them can be located with the naked eye. If you want a close up look, however, you will have to invest some money in a good telescope.