WASHINGTON: If you love stargazing, there’s a date you need to mark on your calendar. It’s June. That’s right, the whole month! Throughout the month of June, the two brightest planets in the night sky, Venus and Jupiter, are going to converge for a jaw-dropping close encounter. You don’t want to miss any of the action.
When the sun goes down, step outside and look west.
You don’t have to wait until the sky fades to black. Venus and Jupiter are so bright, you can see then shining through the twilight. In fact, some people say the planets are especially beautiful when they are surrounded by the cobalt hue of the early evening sky–so don’t wait.
During the first two weeks of June, Venus and Jupiter converge until they are only about 10 degrees apart. For reference, this means they would just fit together inside the bowl of the Big Dipper. You could hide them both, simultaneously, behind the palm of your outstretched hand.
This is pretty close, but by the end of the month this distance will shrink by a factor of 30. In fact, every night in June, the separation between Venus and Jupiter will visibly shrink.
One good night to check on their progress is June 12th. After dark, scan the sky around Venus with binoculars. You can see the Beehive Star cluster! Venus will be passing right by it. On June 18th, Venus and Jupiter will be only 6 degrees apart. Now you can hide the two behind just two or three of your fingers with your arm outstretched.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
