The 2 brightest worlds pass less than half a degree apart at dusk during a magnificent conjunction on the night of March 1st.
Theyre none other than the fourth and third brightest natural things in the sky (behind the Sun and the Moon), the planets Jupiter and Venus. If skies are clear, you can see them get ever better together from one night to the next, as they meet up during an incredible combination on the night of March 1st/2nd.
The celestial action is currently afoot, as the slim waxing crescent Moon pays the closing pair a check out on the night of Wednesday February 22nd. The Moon will really occult (pass in front of) Jupiter for the southern suggestion of South America on Wednesday evening: the rest people will see a close pass.
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The lineup of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter on the evening of February 22nd looking west. Credit: Stellarium.
The Moon occults Jupiter 4 times in 2023. the next two dates are March 22nd and April 19th, though Jove will likewise be close to the Sun around this time, as it reaches solar conjunction on April 11th. The final occasion occurs on May 17th and could be an interesting one for the southwestern United States and Mexico at dawn.
The occultation footprint for the February 22nd occasion. Credit: Occult 4.2.
The Moon likewise occults Venus on March 24th, and again later this year on November 9th. These close passes also use an unusual possibility to identify -3.9 magnitude Venus (and maybe, even -2.1 magnitude Jupiter) in the daytime, using the close-by waxing crescent Moon as a guidepost.
Venus in the daytime. Credit: Dave Dickinson.
This leads up to the huge event on Wednesday March 1st, as Jupiter passes simply 29 (about one Full Moon diameter) from Venus at 5:00 Universal Time (UT) on March 2nd. The 2 will be close enough to easily suit a low power field of vision, though (mainly Venus) is really truckin, moving an obvious distance of one complete degree from just one night before and after. The conjunction is one of the finest naked eye planet versus planet conjunctions for 2023, it isnt the closest overall; that award goes to last weeks uncommon Venus-Neptune combination, when the two were just 42″ apart.
Venus versus Neptune from February 15th. Credit: Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project.
The March 1st conjunction is the closest for Venus and Jupiter because April 30th, 2022. The two worlds wont be better up until May 23rd, 2024. Venus and Jupiter are 31 degrees east of the Sun at closest method on next week, positioned well in the dusk.
March 1st at sunset, looking westward. Credit: Stellarium.
Conjunction: Looking back from Jove
Of course, gas giant Jupiter is much bigger than Venus … however its likewise over 4 times farther away, at 5.77 Astronomical Units (AU) or over 537 million miles (1.18 billion kilometers) remote. Looking back from Jupiter, you d see Earth and Venus in a close 25 welcome, with the +4.6 magnitude Moon tossed in.
Earth meets Venus … as seen from Jupiter on March 1st. Credit: Stellarium.
And speaking of the Moon, this lunation sets us up for the start of the Roman Catholic season of Lent today, with the Paschal Full Moon falling on the lunation after next on April 6th, and Easter 2023 falling on the following Sunday on April 9th. The Muslim calendar, which strictly follows the lunar cycle, likewise sees the start of Ramadan 2023, starting with the next lunation and the expected first sighting of the slim crescent Moon on March 22nd.
Venus meets Jupiter in 2016. Credit: Rob Sparks.
When it comes the sky-watching, knowledge of planetary combinations can likewise have geopolitical significance. The true offenders were– you thought it– Venus and Jupiter during a particularly fine combination.
View the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter live, courtesy of astronomer Gianluca Masi and the Virtual Telescope project: the program begins on Wednesday, February 22nd at 19:00 UT/2:00 PM EST
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Theyre none other than the third and 4th brightest natural items in the sky (behind the Sun and the Moon), the planets Jupiter and Venus. The March 1st combination is the closest for Venus and Jupiter given that April 30th, 2022. Of course, gas giant Jupiter is much larger than Venus … however its likewise over four times farther away, at 5.77 Astronomical Units (AU) or over 537 million miles (1.18 billion kilometers) far-off. Looking back from Jupiter, you d see Earth and Venus in a close 25 welcome, with the +4.6 magnitude Moon thrown in.
The real offenders were– you thought it– Venus and Jupiter throughout a particularly fine combination.