On Saturday, April 30, the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will make ultra-close conjunction. The event will be comparable to Mars and Saturn colliding earlier this month.
The next time these planets will collide will be in early March 2023. Despite their near proximity, the two planets will not collide in telescopic vision next year, so you should not miss it.
Space.com said binoculars and telescopes could give spectacular views of Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter will seem somewhat gibbous, with a wide disk crossed by cloud bands and accompanied by the four Galilean satellites, which will shift positions to each other hour by hour and night by night.
TOPSHOT - Planets Jupiter (L) and Saturn are seen during the great conjunction from the Griffith Observatory on the same day as the winter solstice, December 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. - The great conjunction refers to the astronomical alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, the closest for nearly 400 years.
Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction
Saturn and Jupiter passed close to each other in the sky in December 2020, and they almost collided. This month's planetary conjunction will put on a very similar performance, putting the two brightest planets in the night sky close enough to provide quite a spectacle.
At the end of this month, Jupiter and Venus, the two brightest planets in the night sky, will perform a "dance," or conjunction, in the pre-dawn sky. Whether you're an astronomy fan or not, it's worth getting up early to get a glimpse of the spectacle. The festival runs from April 29 to May 1, with a climax on April 30.
Conjunction Explained
A conjunction is simply two objects in space that appear close together as seen from Earth in astronomical terminology. Jupiter and Venus are actually fairly far apart in space. Venus orbits the Sun at a distance of 67.2 million miles, while Jupiter orbits at a distance of 484 million miles. The Earth is approximately 93 million kilometers from the Sun.
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Planets periodically align precisely from our point of view throughout their orbital excursions, resulting in a stunning performance visible to us here on Earth.
Here's How Frequent Venus-Jupiter Conjunction Occur
Venus and Jupiter conjunctions aren't uncommon in and of themselves, occurring approximately once a year. Still, not all of them are as magnificent as this one, according to the Adler Planetarium (via NBC Chicago).
This conjunction will be particularly stunning due to the brightness of both planets, their proximity in the sky, and the fact that they will be visible before the Sun's glare blots them out.
Next Planetary Conjunction 2022
Jupiter and Mars will collide on May 29. In another early-morning display, the super-bright Jupiter will pass close to the indisputably Red Planet. The optimum time to see the duo in the Eastern sky is shortly after 4:30 a.m. Eastern.
The next conjunction will occur on Dec. 6, after sunset, when the nearly Full Moon and the Pleiades will dazzle. The Full Moon will eclipse Mars the following evening. In layman's terms, this means that the brilliant moon will obscure the Red Planet. The show will begin shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern and go into the night.
The year's final event will occur on Dec. 9, 2022. Venus and Mercury will make a near meeting in the southwestern sky shortly after sunset, although it will only be visible briefly as soon as the sun sets.
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