When You Can See the Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter This Weekend
Something interesting is going to happen this weekend: Venus and Jupiter will look very close in the sky, almost touching each other, even though they are millions of miles apart. The closest they will be is Saturday, April 30 at around 3:00 pm ET. This is known as a “conjunction” and while EarthSky experts have been urging people to watch planets appear since the phenomenon began last week, you’ll have a better chance on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know.
What is a planetary conjunction?
A planetary conjunction is a very simple kind of illusion: this is the name we use when two objects in space (such as asteroids, moons, stars, or planets) look close to each other when viewed from Earth. They’re not close together there, but it’s cool to see what they look like .
Systems exist to help astronomers pinpoint exactly where objects appear in the sky. For example, the celestial coordinate system of right ascension and declination is aligned with the Earth’s tilt and referenced to standard points in the sky. Then there is the ecliptic coordinate system, which is tied to the orientation of the solar system within the galaxy. This one is measured in ecliptic latitude and longitude.
To be in conjunction with each other, two objects in space must have the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude. But to see the connection, you don’t really need to know what it is.
What happens to Venus and Jupiter?
We all know that the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun. The orbits are elliptical and slightly inclined with respect to other orbits. From time to time, the orbits of two planets align so that from Earth they appear close to each other.
This is exactly what is happening with Venus and Jupiter. They are both on their own elliptical paths, heading towards each other more than usual – at least from the point of view we have here on Earth, which is between them. Venus is closer to us, Mars is on the other side of us, and Jupiter follows it.
According to EarthSky, the two planets will appear closest in our sky on the mornings of April 30th and May 1st. At the time of the conjunction, Venus will be only 0.2 times south of Jupiter, which is less than the full diameter of the Moon. Again, you don’t need to know what it all means to enjoy the big moment; it’s just cool.
How to see the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter?
Venus and Jupiter seem to be approaching each other for a few days and on May 1st they will look like they are starting to separate so feel free to keep an eye on them all the time to see them pass like two ships in the night .
You don’t need a telescope to see the planets on April 30th and May 1st. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, look to the southeast horizon at dawn, according to CNN . Just make sure it’s still dark enough so you can see the stars. In the Southern Hemisphere, the conjunction will be visible above the eastern horizon.
They are on track to become more visible than some previous conjunctions because they won’t be as close to the sun as they have been in the past. You will be looking for small dots of light. Mars and Saturn will also join the party and align roughly north of Venus and Jupiter, but while four planets will technically be visible, the big draw is a Venus-Jupiter conjunction, so if you’re having trouble, just focus on finding two very close ones . points of light.