You can see SIX planets in the night sky this week – as well as waning Hunter’s Moon

IT’S a good week to learn about all the planets in our Solar System as an impressive six will be visible in the night sky.

Stargazers should also look out for the waning Hunter’s Moon.

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The six planets to see this week

Earlier risers will be able to spot Venus and a tiny Mercury in the dark morning sky this week.

Mars, Saturn and Jupiter should be noticeable in the evenings and towards the end of the week Uranus should appear thanks to the waning Moon meaning less moonlight to block it out.

With clear skies, you shouldn’t be able to miss Venus in the morning sky.

It will be the brightest star visible.

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Then you just need to look below it and very close to the horizon to spot Mercury.

Venus will be outshining Mercury by about 70 times.

Mercury will be best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the UK and the US.

Mars and Jupiter will appear after dusk this week.

They’ll be the two brightest ‘stars’ in the sky just after the Sun sets.

Jupiter will be the brightest star-like object in the western half of the sky, and Mars will be shining brightly in the eastern half.

On Tuesday evening, look to the southwestern sky just after sunset to see Jupiter and Saturn shining closely together.

If you’re unsure what you’re looking at you can always download a night sky scanning app for your smartphone that can point out planets and constellations.

Finally, Sunday November 8 will be an ideal time for stargazing because the Moon will be waning, which means a very small part of its surface will be visible.

A slither of Moon means the sky will be darker than usual so you should look out for notoriously hard to spot Uranus.

Look for a blue-green ‘star’ in the Pisces constellation in the night sky.

You’ll probably need binoculars to see it.

What’s a waning Hunter’s Moon?

The Moon this week will be rising later and waning, which means getting smaller.

We had a full Moon on October 31 and now it’s time for it to grow smaller again.

It’s now a Hunter’s Moon because of the time of year and is associated with Native American tribes using the full Hunter’s Moon to gather food.

Now it’s getting smaller and less bright it’s no longer useful for hunters but will be very useful for prospective stargazers.

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And, a huge asteroid nicknamed the ‘God of Chaos’ is gaining speed as it travels towards Earth.

How often do you stargaze? Let us know in the comments…

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