In the early hours of April 30 and May 1, astronomy enthusiasts can observe two bright planets in the sky that appear to collide and merge into a single, magical celestial body.
According to NASA, this will be an incomplete merger as the planets will still be 0.2 degrees apart, but from the naked eye’s perspective, we will see two celestial bodies forming a single entity. These are Venus and Jupiter, two of the most easily observable astronomical objects in the sky, so you will have no trouble admiring them.
This spectacular sight will repeat in the early hours of May 1, with the two planets still slightly apart but their positions reversed, as reported by Science Alert.
NASA graphic depicting the future scene from Huntsville, Alabama – USA, where the brightest object in the sky is the merged planets – (Photo: NASA)
Of course, Venus and Jupiter are not literally merging but are aligned from our perspective on Earth, appearing to line up in a way that creates the illusion of a merger.
This is the second planetary conjunction that Earthlings have the opportunity to observe in April. Previously, Mars and Saturn had a similarly spectacular conjunction.
According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA, the conjunction on the early morning of April 30 is a “very close” alignment worth admiring. If you have binoculars or a telescope, you can observe them more clearly, and even some of Jupiter’s moons might be visible through a telescope.
According to Earth Sky, Venus will have a brightness magnitude of -4 and Jupiter -2.1, which is bright enough for clear observation. The best time to view them is one hour before dawn. You also won’t have to worry about moonlight obscuring the planets, as this will be during the new moon phase.
NASA forecasts that an even more spectacular conjunction will occur on June 24: all other planets in the solar system will align from Earth’s perspective, nearly merging into a single “super planet”. Most of the planets will be visible to the naked eye, and you will only need a telescope for Uranus and Neptune.
