While Jupiter is much farther than Mars, it is more than 20 times larger, which is why it’s so much brighter.
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This week sees the closest grouping of three planets since May 27, 2013 – and it will not happen again until January 10, 2021.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration calls this “a rare and lovely sight”. During this time, the orbits of Mars, Jupiter and Venus have each come to a point where, from Earth, they align closely in the sky. Astronomers advice people to look towards the east, next to the constellations The Big Dipper and Leo.
While a telescope or binoculars will give you a better view of the planets, as well as a view of Jupiter’s moons, you do not need an optical aid to see them.
Naturally, a pair of binoculars will help spot the planets faster and a telescope will always offer an extra edge but, considering the fact that Jupiter and Venus are the easiest planets to identify in the sky, it should be easy enough to locate them on the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise. This is the best time to observe them as it is just dark enough to see the planets high up in the sky. Mars will be dimmer than the other two making it the hardest to spot out of all three of them. Both will still be visible very close to sunrise.
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They might appear close together, but in reality, the planets are still millions of kilometers away from each other. They will look much brighter than surrounding stars. Jupiter will also be officially in conjunction with Venus on October 26, meaning that the two planets will have the same right ascension, the celestial equivalent of longitude. One AU, or astronomical unit, is the distance from the Earth to the Sunday. The planets will drift away from each other and the spectacle will sadly be over, by the beginning of November. But do not stop looking up just yet; On November 6 and 7, the crescent Moon will move past the three planets, and the four heavenly bodies will be visible in the night sky.
