Into February

Planetary spectacle lights up the evening sky

Four bright planets can be seen in the evening sky into February. Mars shines in the east, Jupiter in the south, Venus and Saturn can be seen in the west. There is no specific date when the spectacle is best seen.

This is according to the head of the Vienna Astronomy Association (WAA), Alexander Pikhard. Venus can already be seen shining brightly in the southwest of Austria at dusk. The planet's brightness will increase to such an extent by mid-February that it will be visible to the naked eye in the daytime sky as early as the afternoon.

After Venus, Jupiter is the second brightest planet, shining brighter than the stars in the winter sky. Mars, which is characterized by its distinctive reddish color, shines as brightly as Sirius, the brightest fixed star in the firmament. Saturn's visibility ends in Austria on February 23, and Mercury takes its place on February 24.

Long joint visibility
The two distant planets Uranus and Neptune are also in the evening sky, but they cannot be seen with the naked eye. "Venus and Saturn in particular, as well as Mars, Castor and Pollux, clearly show the movement of the planets in the sky these days. They are slowly passing in front of the much more distant stars as they orbit the sun, just like our Earth," said Alexander Pikhard from the Vienna Astronomy Consortium.

It is not at all uncommon for four or all five bright planets to be visible at once in the evening or morning. "However, Mercury almost always plays a role in this and the duration of their joint visibility is only a few weeks."