The tables below provide the approximate planet locations for the first day of every three months up to the year 2010. Each table lists the planet's name, whether it is an evening or morning object, and its host constellation. ‘Morning’ denotes planets that rise after midnight; ‘evening’ denotes planets that rise before midnight. ‘Sun’ indicates that the planet is too near the Sun to be seen.

As mentioned, planets like Mercury and Venus, and in some cases Mars, frequently change locations. To find a planet at a time not listed, you need to interpolate its position between the months given. For example, on January 1, 2004, Venus is an evening object in the constellation Capricornus. By April 1, 2004, it is still an evening object but now lies in Taurus. Thus, between January and April 2004, Venus moves through the region of sky between these two constellations – first into Aquarius, then Pisces.

Because of its rapid motion around the Sun, Mercury is the most difficult of the planets to keep track of. If you are intent on following Mercury back and forth between the morning and evening skies, I suggest you look up its position in a popular astronomy magazine or obtain monthly positions from an observer's almanac.