Skywatchers have another chance to capture the rare planetary conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. All details are available here.
A solar eclipse isn’t the only reason this weekend for skywatchers to get excited. There is another rare phenomenon happening in the sky! Two of the brightest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Venus are about to collide! At least, that’s what it would look like from Earth. Despite the fact that they are millions of miles apart, skywatchers can still see the virtual conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. They appear to be close enough that nearly a collision in a planetary conjunction occurs once a year.
Planetary conjunction is essentially a view when two planets appear close together in Earth’s night sky. This year, however, the bright planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Venus, will look much closer together than usual. That means you can see them with just a pair of binoculars or maybe even with the naked eye! And this rare celestial sight won’t happen again until 2039. That means if you missed it, you’ll have to wait another 17 years.
How to see the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter?
The planetary collision of Venus and Jupiter will gradually appear on Saturday! The best time to catch this rare planet conjunction is around 05:00 BST on Saturday! No, you didn’t miss it. You still have a chance. In fact, the actual orbits of the planets are about 430 million miles apart, but it gives the illusion of touching each other from Earth due to their apparent alignment. After today’s climax, Venus and Jupiter will slowly follow their respective paths over the coming days.
Therefore, the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus will be visible on Sunday and the coming days. You need to know that the time before dawn is best to look East before sunrise to catch the meeting of Venus and Jupiter. In addition, there will be differences in the brightness of the planets, the brighter one will be Venus.
The BBC report suggests the location of the planetary conjunctions as “The planets will be low in the sky, close to the horizon, and hills and buildings will obscure the view. If you maybe, find a high point and find two bright spots Very close together.”
