If you’re able to drag yourself from your bed half an minute before dawn on Monday dawn you should be in for a treat ( weather permitting ) . Jupiter and Venus will be at their stuffy for 14 years , gain a truly magnificent sight .
conjunction of planets ( when they appear to draw close each other in the sky ) hail along quite often , but as the two brightest astronomic objects after the Sun and Moon , close encounter of Venus and Jupiter are special .
Not all of such event are equal however . On some occasions the two planet never get closelipped than 6 ° – about half the width of a fist if you moderate your hand at full stretch . On other occasions the pair might look tight in the sky , but are overwhelmed by the Sunday . Since Venus never gets more than 48 ° from the sun in the sky , this happens much more oftentimes than for approach path of planets further out from us such as Jupiter and Mars .
This meter however , the two major planet will be just 0.2 ° apart at their near , agate line of sight disguising the fact that their dependable distance is actually more than 700 million kilometers . However , where some continuative provide multiple opportunities to see two major planet close to each other , this one is an exception . From our view the two are moving in opposite direction , so if you pretermit them on Monday they ’ll ramify very fast thereafter .
With the naked eye the two will look so close and bright that anoutbreak of UFO reports is counter . However , for a real feast for the center binoculars or a small scope are recommended .
The penny-pinching approach will take office against a backcloth of M44 , also cognize as the Beehive Cluster , one of the most noted open clusters in the sky and a treat with field glasses on its own . At the minute the Beehive is so close to the sun that the stars wo n’t be at their brightest , but with the planetary pair at their edge the effect should be breathtaking .
Two Micron All Sky Survey . Jupiter and Venus will come out just outside the loose cluster known as the Beehive Nebula , pictured .
A home telescope on abject magnification will show both planets in the same field of view , along with Jupiter ’s Moons .
cloud aside , a skinny junction will be visible throughout the macrocosm , other than Antarctica , but only those in Europe or Africa will get to see them at their very closest .
Skymap . How the pair will seem relative to M44 in binoculars
A honest view east is want , as the pair will only be about 10 ° above the view as the sky starts to lighten . The will appearalmost straight below Castor and Pollux , and just about in line with Procyon .
