The conjunction promises to be magnificent: Mars and Saturn are very close in the sky on the morning of April 5, 2022. The two planets are barely separated by the distance of a ray from the Moon. And it is visible to the naked eye.
To the naked eye or binoculars, the conjunction between the planets Saturn and Mars scheduled for the morning of Tuesday April 5, 2022 promises to be memorable (if bad weather does not interfere). You have to get up early to enjoy it, but the show is worth it: Saturn, above, and Mars, below, are barely separated by a distance equivalent to a lunar ray, from our point of view.
As announced by the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE) in its newsletter, this conjunction is the ” one of interesting phenomena to observe during the month of April 2022. It is at dawn on April 5, before the Sun has completely risen (the rising of the star of the day is scheduled for 7:21 a.m. this Tuesday), that it is necessary to observe.
A Mars-Saturn conjunction in the light of dawn
Mars and Saturn are visible to the naked eye from 6:20 a.m. in the constellation of Capricorn. ” This event occurring in the gleams of the rising, it means that the planets passed behind the Sun a few weeks before “, completes the IMCCE. Mars was in conjunction with the Sun on October 8, 2021 (which paused communications with Mars missions for a while); for Saturn, it was February 4, 2022.
During their conjunction with the Sun, the two planets were on the other side of the star, in relation to the Earth. They were therefore also further away from us. ” In April, they begin to move away from the Sun, but are still very far from Earth », Specifies the institute. This has consequences for observation: the diameter of the planets will not be as large as at the time of opposition, when these planets are closest to us.
On the morning of April 5, the exact moment when the distance between Mars and Saturn is at a minimum is not visible from mainland France. The planets are still below the eastern horizon at 3:42. Nevertheless, it is not embarrassing: barely a few hours later, the two planets are still visible very close to each other. Their movement in the sky seems slow to us, compared to the stars.
” The naked eye will undoubtedly be an excellent ally to savor the aesthetics of a phenomenon highlighted by a horizon colored by the first rays of dawn. “says (poetically) the IMCCE. If you have binoculars, using them can help you see that the two bright spots aren’t stars that seem to twinkle, but rather sort of ” tiny confetti — in a reddish color for Mars.
Note that Venus is not far from this rapprochement: the planet is normally clearly visible to the east of Mars and Saturn, in the constellation Aquarius.
