On March 2-3 (Vietnam time), Jupiter and Venus will appear next to each other in the night sky during an event known as a “conjunction”, which can be seen with the naked eye without the need for telescopes or binoculars.
These two bright planets will look as if they are about to collide in the night sky.
A planetary conjunction next to the crescent moon.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, and Venus, one of the brightest objects in Earth’s sky, will be approximately half a degree apart – or about one degree wide of a full moon.
For several weeks, these two stars have been moving closer together, heading towards a phenomenon known as a “conjunction,” where two stars or moons appear unusually close to each other in the sky.
In reality, these two planets are millions of kilometers apart. Only from our viewpoint on Earth can we see them appear together at the same time. Thanks to Earth’s orbital patterns, Jupiter and Venus can have such conjunctions occur once a year or even longer.
No telescope or binoculars are needed; we can still see these two bright planets. Just look west after sunset, and we can spot the two objects clearly.
Jupiter and Venus will appear as particularly bright stars. Jupiter will shine twice as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, while Venus will shine six times brighter than Jupiter, according to Space.com.
However, if sky watchers use binoculars, they may see the planets’ “conjunction” more beautifully and clearly.
According to In-The-Sky.org, the two planets will be slightly apart enough to be visible in the same field of view of a telescope. If you cannot catch this sight in the sky, you can watch a live broadcast of the “conjunction” from Rome, thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project starting at 11:30 PM on March 1.
According to the Hanoi Astronomy Society (HAS), Vietnamese people will have the chance to witness the convergence of the two planets Venus and Jupiter on March 2. The ideal observation time is from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Venus is currently about 80 million km away from Earth, while the distance from Jupiter to our planet is 885 million km. Venus and Jupiter typically “meet” on a cycle of about 398.88 days, equivalent to over 13 months. However, in the next 100 years, there will be only 24 such conjunctions between the two planets. |
