The planets have been tracked by every civilization that ever looked up. They were the “wanderers” — the lights that moved against the fixed stars — and understanding their motion was the first great puzzle of astronomy.

You don’t need a telescope to follow them. Venus blazes in the twilight sky, Jupiter dominates the night, Saturn rewards even a small scope with its rings. The planets are always doing something: approaching, receding, passing in front of star clusters, lining up with each other or the Moon.

These articles tell you when and where to look, what you’ll see at different magnifications, and what the geometry behind each event actually means. The sky is always in motion — this series keeps you in step with it.