- Venus and Jupiter are about 430 million miles apart but looked to be ‘touching’
- The phenomenon happens every year but this weekend appeared much closer
- If there is a clear sky, the naked eye or binoculars will be enough to see planets
Jupiter and Venus will appear to collide, forming a line with Saturn and Mars, in a rare cosmic event and fantabulous event for all stargazers.
According to media accounts, the solar system’s two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, will look to collide on April 30 in what can only be described as a spectacular celestial display.
They will be millions of kilometres distant, therefore not literally.
It will appear as if they are about to collide on Earth. This planetary conjunction, on the other hand, only happens once a year.
This year, the planets will appear closer to stargazers than usual. They would also be visible using binoculars or the naked eye this time.
These planets will look much closer to stargazers than usual this year. This time, they were visible with a pair of binoculars or the naked eye.
Rev. Dr Michael T Santini @michaeltsantini has tweeted
“On the morning of April 30th, Jupiter and Venus will appear to collide in the sky as both planets merge into one spectacular glow. Despite looking very close together, the two planets are very far apart in space. Venus is closer to the sun than Earth and Jupiter is farther out.”
What makes it even more remarkable is that Saturn and Mars will appear to create a straight line with these planets.
If you missed it, you’ll have to wait another 17 years for another chance. This is such a rare and remarkable planetary alignment.
“Although Venus and Jupiter get close to one another every few years, this time there is also Mars and Saturn in the mix which is pretty rare. If you have a telescope, a pair of binoculars or a decent camera, then you’ll get an even better view,” Brad Tucker, astrophysicist, Australian National University told the Guardian.
“The planets will differ in their brightness. Venus is brighter than Jupiter so it will look dazzlingly bright when you see it. Jupiter will be slightly fainter, about one-sixth of the brightness of Venus,” Prof Lucie Green, chief stargazer, Society for Popular Astronomy told BBC News.