Watch Venus and Jupiter “clash” tomorrow with the naked eye

How to see Venus and Jupiter collide

The planet and stars are usually aligned, but April 2022 is a rarity, with four of the closest planets to Earth in the Solar System – Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – aligning almost perfectly. perfect and visible to the eye without a telescope, DW reported.

Another interesting astronomical highlight occurs: On the morning of April 30 and May 1, Venus and Jupiter will appear to collide. Venus and Jupiter – the two brightest planets in the sky – will in fact be very far apart. However, depending on the astronomy lover’s position, Venus will look like it is covering or pushing Jupiter.

The April 30 astronomical phenomenon of Venus and Jupiter will not be as large as the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in December 2020, but NASA experts assert that this amazing astronomical event is also “really impressive and creates very interesting sight in the morning sky”.

“Jupiter and Venus will meet on the morning of April 30, seemingly close to colliding. Due to the glare from both planets, observers will see them merging into a very bright, spectacular light!” – NASA said.

Although observing from Earth will perceive Jupiter and Venus very close to each other, in reality the two planets will still be very far apart in space. Mars and Saturn had a similar conjunction earlier in April.

Where can Venus and Jupiter collide?

The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on April 30 can be observed from anywhere in the world, DW noted. However, not every angle will observe two planets close together.

If the astronomy lover observes in the Northern Hemisphere, the 4 planets appear as a diagonal line in the night sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, the 4 planets appear as vertical lines.

Venus is the 2nd planet from the sun, so its orbit is closer to the Sun than The earth. Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun, so its orbit is much farther. That means “the feeling of close proximity is an illusion caused by Earth, Venus, and Jupiter being roughly aligned,” NASA notes.

For example, 2020 planetary conjunction: Jupiter and Saturn appear to be very close to each other, but they are still about 800 million kilometers apart.

What’s so special about 4 planets in alignment this time?

Four-planet conjunctions can happen about once a year, but this April event is unique because two planetary conjunctions occur at roughly the same time, creating a much larger quadruple constellation.

Some call this combination a minor planetary parade when more than 2 planets appear to align in the same area of ​​the night sky.

Larger numbers of planetary combinations in alignment are less common. There is an opinion that, about once every 19 years, there will be 5 planets in alignment and 8 planets will align every 170 years. However, this depends on individuals’ definition of how perfectly the planets align.

Some experts say that the last time the eight planets aligned perfectly was 1,000 years ago. But others say that planetary alignment never happens because the planets move in slightly different planes. Therefore, the perfect combination of planets is only available in movies or on illustrated maps Solar system drawing on postcards.