Planets Prepare for Close Encounter
Mars and Jupiter are set to create a stunning visual spectacle in the night sky on Wednesday, as they align for their closest encounter of the decade. While the planets will actually be over 350 million miles apart in their orbits, they will appear exceptionally close from Earth, with only a tiny gap separating them.
According to an AP report, the red planet and the gas giant will reach their minimum distance, about one-third of a degree apart, roughly equivalent to one-third of the moon’s width. This rare alignment will be visible across most of the Americas, Europe, and Africa during daylight hours, although they will appear similarly close in the night sky the previous day and hours earlier.
Best viewing before dawn
The best time to view this planetary conjunction will be just before dawn in the eastern sky, near the constellation Taurus. This type of astronomical event occurs approximately once every three years. “Such events are mostly items of curiosity and beauty for those watching the sky, wondering what the two bright objects so close together might be,” said Jon Giorgini of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. “The science is in the ability to accurately predict the events years in advance,” he added.
A once-in-a-decade event
Mars and Jupiter haven’t been this close since 2018, and the next time they will be even closer won’t be until 2033. The closest they have been in the last 1,000 years was in 1761, when they appeared as a single bright star to the naked eye. Giorgini noted that a similar close encounter will occur in 2348.
Coincides with the Perseid meteor shower
This remarkable conjunction of Mars and Jupiter will coincide with the Perseid meteor shower, one of the brightest meteor showers of the year, offering stargazers an exceptional celestial display visible to the naked eye.