If i saw a planet in the sky, which ones could it possibly be?

Question

If i saw a planet in the sky, which ones could it possibly be?

Answer 1

venus

jupiter

mars

saturn

those are the most common for seeing planets

you can tell if it's mars - it would be redish

venus is bright

jupiter is good for viewing this time of year - you can see some moons through a telescope

saturn you can see the rings through a telescope

Answer 2

Well, right now, all the visible planets besides Jupiter are all clumped together around the Sun from our point of view (starting at the Sun and going eastward, it is: Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Mars)

If you're seeing a planet just at sunset, then it's one of those. (Saturn is too close to the Sun to be seen right now, so it's not that)

If your planet is up high in the southern sky in the evening, and very bright right now, then you're seeing Jupiter.

Of course, this is for right now - the planets all move around the sky, and years later will be in very different places. Mercury and Venus, however, will always be close to the Sun in the sky since they're closer to the Sun than Earth is.

Some people with exceptional eye sight, who know right where to look, and do so in ideal darkness, are capable of seeing the planet Uranus with the unaided eye, but most people cannot do this.

Answer 3

Right now -- Jupiter; and low in the West just after sunset-- Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Neptune is also up but you need a telescope to see it.... later in the evening. Saturn is now up in the early morning hours.

Answer 4

Well, there are 5 of them that can be seen with the naked eye.  They are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn.  

However, if it was observed at night, or during the evening, those planets are normally either Mars (which is red/yellow, and has a "small" atmosphere), Jupiter (most probably the one you saw, it's the one I "see" all the time), or Saturn.  

Mercury & Venus (very bright and "fuzzy", due to the fact it has a great atmosphere), can also be seen, however, at different times of the day, as a matter of fact Venus is called the morning/evening star.  

Answer 5

It gotta be Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars or if you're very lucky, Mercury

Answer 6

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars or if you're very lucky, Mercury. Those are the ones that are visible to the naked eye - I listed them in order of their brightness here.

Answer 7

If you saw it last night it was probably Jupiter, but it changes from month to month and year to year. They are always moving.

5 of the planets are easily seen by naked eye, if they are above your local horizon on a clear night. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Answer 8

The only planet readily visible with the naked eye at present is Jupiter, in the southern sky most of the night. The other naked eye planets are grouped close to the Sun in the sky, so are visible only briefly just after sunset.

Answer 9

Venus or Mars.

Two closest, mars looks red and venus looks greenish :)

Or the moon :P

Answer 10

It all depends on where and when you saw it.

Just around sunset in the west, the bright planet is Venus, the dimmer one is Mercury - Saturn is also there, a little dimmer than Venus but brigher than Mercury.

Mars is also in the west, but a little higher above the horizon.

Jupiter rules the night, in the south around sunset and in the southwest around midnight.

Answer 11

Most are actually visible, but would be hard to discern from others stars. Easy ones would be mars jupiter and mercury because of their red color and proximity, but telling them apart would also take some knowledge.