Observing the planets through a telescope might seem like a repetitive task to undertake. After all, the solar system has been around for 4.6 billion years, and so have the planets in our solar system, so it might appear reasonable to assume that observing the planets through a telescope would always yield the same view.

However, observing planets on different nights throughout the year reveals a changing view of our planetary neighbours. Venus, as well as the elusive Mercury, appear to change their phase as our observation of these two inner planets from different angles reveals more or less of the sunlit part of the planets. Just like Venus, Mars changes notably in size as we get closer or farther away.

Mars also experiences global dust storms over extended periods of time, clouding most of our views of its surface features.

All the planets rotate on their own axis, just like the Earth, and different parts of their surfaces come into view accordingly.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, for example, might be visible on one night but not the next, due to Jupiter’s short rotation period – just under 10 hours!

Our view of Saturn also changes over the course of several years, with our angle of view on the rings changing, showing more or less of its rings – in 2025, we will only have an edge-on view of Saturn’s rings!