LONDON: Jupiter, Mars and Venus will appear close to each other in the morning sky forming a planetary triangle in the night sky.
If you’re a space nerd, you won’t want to miss this. Later this week, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus will all be visible in the same frame of view in the early morning sky, converging for a pre-Halloween spectacle. According to a report from Mashable, the three planets will be visible starting Monday this week.
Jupiter and Venus will appear close to each other in the morning sky, and Mars will not be far behind. The three planets will seem to get closer throughout the course of the week, forming a tiny triangle in the sky early on Wednesday morning.
The best part about the event? You won’t need any telescopes or binoculars to catch a glimpse of the action. The planetary conjunction, as astronomers call it, will be one of the brightest in recent memory. Venus and Jupiter are some of the brightest lights in the night sky, and Mars can produce a stunning display itself. Depending on visibility in your area, you could trace the travels of the three planets over the course of a whole week.
Venus will appear just over one degree from Jupiter in the night sky, creating an extremely close line. Holding your finger up to the sky at arm’s length constitutes roughly one degree.
Binoculars, while not necessary, can certainly help. NASA reports that a standard pair of binoculars allows people to see about 6 or 7 degrees of a given section of the sky. Viewers that use binoculars will also be able to see four of Jupiter’s moons, Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Castillo. You might need a tripod or a flat surface to be able to pick them out accurately, NASA says. The moons will appear in a different configuration each morning.
