Alignment of the planets: how to observe Venus and Jupiter, closer than ever this weekend


This Sunday, May 1, it will be possible to observe the two planets, Venus and Jupiter, very close to each other. A phenomenon as beautiful as it is rare.

On the night of Saturday April 30 to Sunday May 1, and more particularly at 5:30 a.m., it will be possible to observe the celestial meeting between Jupiter and Venus. Being the two brightest planets in the constellation, they therefore remain the most visible, and they will be in conjunction at this time.

Perfectly visible to the naked eye, they will be separated by only 0.2°. In order to see them, only a pair of binoculars will be necessary. In addition to Venus and Jupiter, the most connoisseurs will also be able to see Galilean satellites such as Ganymede, Europa and Callisto.

A phenomenon that only happens once a year

This phenomenon remains rare since it generally occurs only once each year. This conjunction taking place this weekend is all the more impressive because Venus and Jupiter will be closer than ever.

In August 2016, the two planets were visible even closer to each other. But it was then much more difficult to observe the phenomenon, because of their proximity to the axis of the sun, preventing observation without advanced devices.



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