Objects in your sky: Planets

by Dominic Ford

The visibility of the planets on

From location

London
Begin typing the name of a town near to you, and then select the town from the list of options which appear below.
Rise19:55
Set11:38

The Moon is 19 days old, waning gibbous, and is approaching last quarter. From London, it is visible in the morning sky, becoming accessible around 20:55, when it reaches an altitude of 3° above your eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 03:57, 53° above your southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight around 07:26, 37° above your western horizon.

04 Dec 2025  –  Full Moon
11 Dec 2025  –  Moon at Last Quarter
20 Dec 2025  –  New Moon
27 Dec 2025  –  Moon at First Quarter
Rise05:54
Set14:58

Mercury remains just about visible as a morning object, now well past greatest elongation west and returning closer to the Sun. From London, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 05:51 (GMT) – 2 hours and 0 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 10° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 07:19.

Rise07:17
Set15:27

Venus will soon pass behind the Sun. From London, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 0° above the horizon at dawn.

Rise08:37
Set16:13

Mars will soon pass behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From London, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is 5° below the horizon at dusk.

24 Feb 2025  –  Mars ends retrograde motion
10 Jan 2027  –  Mars enters retrograde motion
19 Feb 2027  –  Mars at opposition
20 Feb 2027  –  Mars at perigee
Rise18:26
Set10:33

Jupiter is currently approaching opposition and is visible as a morning object. From London, it is visible in the morning sky, becoming accessible around 19:30, when it reaches an altitude of 7° above your north-eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 02:29, 60° above your southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight around 07:26, 26° above your western horizon.

11 Nov 2025  –  Jupiter enters retrograde motion
10 Jan 2026  –  Jupiter at opposition
11 Mar 2026  –  Jupiter ends retrograde motion
13 Dec 2026  –  Jupiter enters retrograde motion
Rise12:47
Set00:13

Saturn is currently an early evening object, now receding into evening twilight. From London, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 16:43 (GMT), 29° above your south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 18:30, 34° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 22:51, when it sinks below 11° above your south-western horizon.

28 Nov 2025  –  Saturn ends retrograde motion
26 Jul 2026  –  Saturn enters retrograde motion
04 Oct 2026  –  Saturn at opposition
11 Dec 2026  –  Saturn ends retrograde motion
Rise14:38
Set06:20

Uranus recently passed opposition. From London, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 17:20 (GMT), 22° above your eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 22:29, 58° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 03:50, when it sinks below 21° above your western horizon.

21 Nov 2025  –  Uranus at opposition
04 Feb 2026  –  Uranus ends retrograde motion
10 Sep 2026  –  Uranus enters retrograde motion
25 Nov 2026  –  Uranus at opposition
Rise12:48
Set00:39

Neptune is currently an early evening object, now receding into evening twilight. From London, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 17:20 (GMT), 33° above your south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 18:43, 36° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 22:05, when it sinks below 21° above your south-western horizon.

23 Sep 2025  –  Neptune at opposition
10 Dec 2025  –  Neptune ends retrograde motion
07 Jul 2026  –  Neptune enters retrograde motion
26 Sep 2026  –  Neptune at opposition

Share

London

Latitude:
Longitude:
Timezone:

51.51°N
0.13°W
GMT

Color scheme