Jupiter and Venus have become an astronomical surprise in recent days, the two brightest stars after the twilight of the evening, are precisely these two planets that are more luminous than ever. But the celestial vault still has more to give us and in the coming days Both planets will reach a spectacular conjunction that will not be repeated until 2025, They will come as close as two lovers in a heavenly kiss.
The most important conjunction of the year
Since late February, a beautiful alignment of the largest planets in the night sky has been brewing. to give us one of the most amazing night postcards from the sky.
But the movement of the stars continues and now both will get closer like two celestial lovers. It will be the March 1 when they reach their closest conjunction, Jupiter will be placed at an angular distance of 30º, which is barely minimal, the UNAM Institute of Astronomy. To put it in context, angular distance is equivalent to the space your thumb approximately takes up if you fully extend your arm toward the sky.
Due to their size and proximity, only five planets are visible to the naked eye from Earth’s perspective. , Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen at different times of the year and cannot always be seen next to each other. Due to their translational motion orbits around the Sun, they can be seen in different places on the ecliptic, which is the slightly curved imaginary line that crosses from east to west in our celestial perspective and that describes the path of the Moon, the Sun , the twelve zodiacals and the five visible planets.
Although Jupiter and Venus are separated by more than 900 million kilometers and each pursues its own orbit around the Sun, they will offer us a conjunction that will not be repeated until 2025.
How to watch the celestial kiss between Jupiter and Venus
To admire the most important conjunction of the year, look up at the sky during the evening twilight of March 1. As soon as the sun sets in the west and the sun falls through the dome, both planets will immediately appear very close together in a westward direction. Venus and Jupiter will shine with their maximum splendor and appear so close that it has been called a celestial kiss.
Astronomical observation instruments such as telescopes or binoculars are not required to admire the beauty of the strange conjunction. However, you must take into account that due to the proximity of both planets to the horizon, the astronomical event will not be able to be seen for a long time. They will be lost on the horizon at approximately 8:40 p.m. Central Mexico time, moment when they will hide in the west due to .
In short, you must turn to the west after sunset and the two brightest stars in the sky will be Jupiter and Venus experiencing a rare conjunction that cannot be admired until 2025.