Is there anywhere a very simple calendar/map of roughly where all the planets are at any one time? I ask because I was on the lookout for Mercury this morning, knowing it should be around (thank you, Centaur), and behold, I see a surprisingly bright planet very low in the sky just before sunrise. Just one, with no companion to be seen. It was so bright I could not be sure this was actually Mercury, but I had no means to eliminate other planets (except for Jupiter because I know where that is at the moment).

Sorry if this question is rather obvious.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

i dont have a link but if you type www.fourmilab.ch or "solar system live" into google you should find this site i use hope this is of help to you

well thats how you do a link then lol. scroll down a bit till you see solar system live next to a blue dot

To answer your other question, it was probably Venus, which is magnitude -3.9 now.

Mercury and Saturn are both below and to the left of Venus. Saturn about magnitude 1 and Mercury about -0.7.

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"I'm as accurate as any psychic. And I'm a cartoon!" -- Squidward

"Arrrgh, the laws of physics be a harsh mistress!" -- Bender

I've always liked Heavens-Above. www.heavens-above.com. The site contains lots of great stuff including a whole sky chart that can be configured for date, time, observor location and screen size.

Thanks to both, and Chaboyax, very useful. Somehow I thought it must be Venus, not Mercury.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Perikles. Mercury is always quite a bit more challenging than Venus.Venus not only is much brighter, it moves much further from the sun, so the contrast to the background is very good when it's at maximum elongation. Mercury is less bright, and in the glare of the sun more, which is worsened when you look through the long layers of the atmosphere closer to the horizon. Some observors call this "the murk". It is a problem exacerbated by pollution, too. If you have clear skies, check the sky charts recommended, or if you are in a bookstore, Sky&Tel, or Astronomy magazine, then it's pretty easy. I wish you clear skies.

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A third rate theory forbids.
A second rate theory explains after the fact.
A first rate theory predicts.
A. Lomonosov

If you're an iPhonian like me, you could also use the Starmap app (or one of several simillar apps) that I keep handy on my phone.

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Brett
Peters Creek, Alaska
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Yes, thanks, I was aware Venus is much brighter. Were I live, the pollution is very low and visibility on the horizon is superb, and even better given that to the east we have a mountain range raising the horizon about 5-10 degrees. This is why when seeing a bright planet I was unable to judge whether it was Mercury under first-class seeing conditions or just Venus. With this being Venus, I'm puzzled that I can't see Mercury lurking lower down. I'll try again tomorrow.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

That looks really cool - almost a sufficient excuse to buy an iPhone.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

I can't believe that noone has mentioned Stellarium yet. Here goes:

Stellarium - It's free and awesome.

It's on my computer and it just does not work. At least, I don't know how to make it work.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Stellarium is good for showing where all the planets are as viewed from Earth, but I get the impression the OP wants to see an overview of all the planet positions in the solar system, as viewed from a more distant vantage point.

edit: actually, just read the OP again. Maybe Stellarium is the best tool for the job, after all ...

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Snert, and the whole world snerts with you.
Snarg, and you snarg alone ...

Are you using Vista and Stellarium v10.1? Thats a known problem and you can download the new 10.2 version. Otherwise there is a list of known problems and a FAQ in the Stellarium Wiki.

Thanks, you two! I've downloaded the later version, but also a user manual. I have tried everything else, now I'm resigned to reading the instructions.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

You’re welcome, Perikles. With more help from my homemade software, here is the way the eastern sky will look 40 minutes before sunrise on Sunday from your location in the beautiful Canary Islands. Venus will actually appear far brighter than any celestial object other than the Moon.

EDIT: Due to cloudy skies over the Canary Islands on Saturday morning, the graphic has been updated to Sunday morning.

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Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical

Oh wow! Thank you Mr Renz...I simply adore your graphics (and photographs)

The skies over here have been overcast past week, apart from a few short windows couple of days ago...

clear skies y'all...

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clear skies

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

Mak: Pass the pepperoni please.
Fazor: "Hail, Bautainia! We pledge our hearts to thee! Science and woo, some babbling too, and astron-oh-meee!"
slang: And it made ash out of yew and tree.

Hey thanks, that is really helpful. Your original map showing the progress of Mercury was very useful, but for the uninitiated, a reference point such as Venus would have helped a lot (and presumably made much more work for you).

Unusual cloud cover this morning, but I'll try again tomorrow.

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γνῶθι σεαυτόν

You’re welcome, Perikles; you too Mahesh. Actually, my similar chart for Venus was available on my website until recently. You might want to save the ones you find useful. Mixing multiple planets on the same chart showing iterations over many days would be quite confusing to the reader. My adding the Moon is bad enough. Such mixing only works well in charts made for a single moment such as the one above for this morning. In any event, below is the reprise of my chart for the current morning apparition of Venus as viewed from Chicagoland.

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Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical

Though I am 'late' in seeing this thread, I want to toss in a 'positive review' for Stellarium as well. Heavens-Above site is worthy, too, of course, but is Web-based, so must be connected. My 10yr-old daughter is able to use Stellarium to ID things in the evening/night sky, so it is fairly user-friendly (once its up and running, of course) I run Vista, too, fwiw.

Alex

Its true . U can always check with stellarium or any other program about the planets position for a given date. Mercury despite being low at the horizon is easy visible for a few weeks every year. Is pretty bright and a naked eye planet.