How you can see Mars, Venus and even Neptune in the night sky tonight (Blogger: Månen har fået selskab - og det er ikke af en stjerne - Et kraftig lysende 'stjerne' kan i disse dage ses lyse himlen op sammen med månen - men der er faktisk tale om en planet ... )

TV2 News - Den tiltagende måne ses tydeligt med planeten Venus lysende stærkt lidt under månen til højre. Fotograferet i Helsinsgør den 2/1 2017 kl. 16.27. Foto: Allan Reib / Privatfoto

by Callum Main, 2 Jan 2017 13:27 eveningexpress.co.uk

Two of the five brightest planets in the night sky will be visible from Aberdeen tonight – that’s if the skies clear up anyway!

Amateur astronomers will be able to see both Mars and Venus – and if you’re lucky and have binoculars or a telescope you could even see Neptune this evening.

Mars, red, Neptune, just below and Venus, below the moon will be visible tonight.

Mars, red, Neptune, just below and Venus, below the moon will be visible tonight.

Looking southwest, below the crescent moon, you will see what appears to be a bright star – this will be Venus. Above and slightly to the left of the moon, and much fainter than Venus, will be Mars.

All three of these planets only be visible until about 9pm tonight.

Jupiter, pictured middle of this image and Saturn, in the bottom right will be visible at around 7am

Jupiter, pictured middle of this image and Saturn, in the bottom right will be visible at around 7am

If you’re an early bird you may be able to catch site of Saturn a few hours before the sunrises, but if you want to see its iconic rings you will need a telescope.

Spotting Jupiter will also be possible in the early morning this week. It will appear at around 1am and will be the brightest “star” in the sky when looking south.

Virtual planetarium images via neave.com/planetarium