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Being something of astronomy buffs here at Yahoo!, we knew that several of the planets in our solar system had been identified long before the invention of telescopes. But which ones were they? In the Yahoo! Solar System category, we found a site explaining that the "seven planets of the ancients" are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the moon, and the sun. (The moon and the sun were called planets in ancient times because they moved through the skies rather like the planets.) According to the site, Uranus is barely visible to the naked eye, but it wasn't known to be a planet until 1781. Continuing to boldly go where no one
has gone before, we searched Yahoo! for "planets naked eye" and turned up lots of tips for naked-eye astronomy. Seems you don't need a telescope to see planets and stars, just a really dark location and plenty of patience. The Naked Eye Observer's Guide notes that Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are easy to view unaided, but "to observe Mercury, you must plan ahead." Uranus is visible, but it's just "a dot of light that can be very difficult to distinguish from nearby stars." Neptune and Pluto are far too dim to be seen without a telescope. The date and time that you look for planets makes a difference in what
you can actually see. For current planet locations, phases of the moon, and other sky happenings, check out Stig's Sky Calendar.
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