Posted on by David Dickinson

Cosmic Conjunction: Jupiter Meets Venus on March 1st

Jupiter vs Venus
Jupiter meets Venus from 2015. Image credit: Roger Hutchison.

The two brightest planets pass less than half a degree apart at dusk during a spectacular conjunction on the night of March 1st.

It has begun. Once every 12 to 18 months or so, I start fielding “what are those two bright objects in the sky?” questions. They’re none other than the third and fourth brightest natural objects in the sky (behind the Sun and the Moon), the planets Jupiter and Venus. If skies are clear, you can see them get ever closer together from one night to the next, as they meet up during a spectacular conjunction on the night of March 1st/2nd.

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Posted on by David Dickinson

Jupiter Meets Venus at Dawn in a Close Conjunction

Jupiter v Venus
Jupiter meets Venus on the morning of October 9th, 2015. Image credit and copyright: frankastro

You might be asking yourself: Where have all the planets gone?

With Mars past its epic opposition in 2018 and still lingering in the evening sky, all other naked eye planets are loitering in the early dawn for January 2019. Sure, it’s cold outside this month for folks up north, but January dawn skies offer early risers an amazing view, as Jupiter closes in on brilliant Venus for a close conjunction on the morning of January 22nd.

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