Mars and Venus Are About to Figure It Out Guys
The cosmos is in constant motion, and during July the movements of the heavenly bodies are a particularly desirable pleasure for those on earth. Two planets located on either side of the Earth – Mars and Venus – are ready to drift relatively close to each other, at least in the great cosmic scheme.
This planetary conjunction, or “kiss” as it is colloquially called, will begin in the early hours of Monday morning and continue until Tuesday. Although it starts early, you don’t have to go to bed before dawn to get a glimpse of it.
What is a union?
In fact, everything is simple: connection is the passage of two or more celestial bodies. Last month, the Moon and Mars aligned in excellent conjunction , which occurs when objects traverse the orbit behind the Sun, sometimes making them visible to observers on earth. The inferior compounds are less interesting, as they are associated with objects drifting in front of the Sun, which obscures their visibility.
This is called a “kiss” because it is a fleeting moment of symmetry. According to BBC Sky at Night , next week you will be able to gaze at the stars as usual:
The most commonly observed conjunctions are associated with the Moon, often in the form of a crescent moon in the evening or morning sky, along with any of the bright planets – Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn.
Technically, for a true conjunction to occur, two or more celestial bodies must maintain the same right ascension, or “ecliptic longitude in the sky,” as Sky at Night notes. Not all connections are purely compliant, and what happens on Monday could be something you call a “connecting light” as the Moon and Mars do not technically have the same right ascension, which is the same coordinates measured from c east to west.
Either way, this should provide a good view, especially if you have powerful binoculars or a telescope ready.
How to see the conjunction of Mars and Venus
The planets will meet at about 2 a.m. ET on Monday, July 12th. But, Astronomy explains, their closest conjunction will not occur until six hours later on Monday morning, when the planets are “separated by a distance less than a diameter. Full moons “.
The United States does not have the best point of view in the world when it comes to point of view. On the evenings of July 12 and 13, there will be the same closeness between the two planets – about 33 degrees of separation – visible in the United States, and this is the best our geography can afford.
Astronomy explains when to see the connection, and where, in particular, to watch on Tuesday evening:
On July 13, the pair will become visible about 45 minutes after sunset local time, low in the west. The two planets will first stand 16 ° above the western horizon, and then descend below it 1 hour and 42 minutes after the Sun.
Mars will appear a little weaker than Venus, so you may “have to let the twilight dim a little so you can spot the Red Planet,” the newspaper notes. Your best chance of seeing planets at any brightness level will be with binoculars or a telescope, and several handy stargazing apps can also aid in your planetary quest.