The next time they will be closer together than this year will be in over a century, in 2122.
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“They look like a little row of ducks, little pinpoints of light next to Jupiter”.
At the beginning of the month Venus and Jupiter were separated by a distant 21 degrees, which is equavlent to about “two fists” apart, but have been getting closer ever since NBC News reported.
Just in time for Canada Day holidays sky-watchers will get treated to a stunningly close encounter between two of the brightest planets in the evening sky.
“With clear skies, Venus is often easy to spot just minutes after sunset with Jupiter showing up somewhat later”.
Of course, the two planets won’t be next to each other, they’ll be some 416 million miles apart.
Baltimore Sun reports that viewers should also be able to see Saturn in the southern sky, close to the almost-full moon, during the night.
Where are Venus and Jupiter in the solar system?
Because the planets are so relatively bright, they show up in the sky before the sun sets, and then seem to suddenly disappear when the stars come out and they slip below the horizon. This is because the two planets are so bright, they can easily be spotted without binoculars or a telescope and can even be seen before night completely falls. Venus, appearing as a crescent, will be even brighter than its neighbor.
These kinds of planetary alignments don’t have any ill effects on Earth, astronomers have said, although this close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus may explain a very famous “star” enshrined in biblical history. Because the one-eyed gas giant is so far away, it appears smaller – which is why it can look comparable to Venus, which is roughly the size of Earth. “Venus is now 48 million miles from Earth; Jupiter is a dozen times farther away at 565 million miles, on the other side of the solar system”. Tonight’s conjunction will bring the two planets significantly closer.
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The image you see above comes from photographer Jeff Berkes and depicts Jupiter near Venus in the year 2012.
