Article #012: Planetary Conjunction

The rare planetary conjunction between Venus and Jupiter is an amazing astronomical event for astrophotographers all around the world. In early March 2023, the planet conjunction disbanded but also lined up with the moon perfectly to form a very bright triangle in the night sky. In February 2023, The two planets came so close together than when see with the naked eye, there is less than half a degree between the 2 planets that can be noticeable.

What is a planet conjunction?

A conjunction occurs when 2 or more celestial astronomical objects appear to be closer together in the night sky as observed from our home planet Earth. These objects could be anything from measly comets to gigantic stars for regular conjunctions, but planetary conjunctions involve only planet bodies.

Why is this planetary conjunction so special?

The brightest planet from the Earth's night sky, Venus, and the second-brightest planet from the Earth's night sky, Jupiter, line up together perfectly with the moon forming a beautiful and bright triangle in the night sky. The two planets come so close to each other that they kiss and pass each other as they dance across the night sky. The sight is a very special one to see and capture from Earth's night sky because it is the conjunction of the 3 brightest objects in the night sky.

The next Venus-Jupiter planetary conjunction has been predicted to be during 2041 which has been calculated by simulating both of their orbits. The chances of 2 bright objects in the night sky that are many miles apart from each other of forming a conjunction are very low and occur more frequently than expected.

Details and Related Information

The March 1/2, 2023 conjunction of Venus and Jupiter was preceded by earlier conjunctions from:
- April 30, 2022
- August 27, 2016
- June 30, 2015
- February 1, 2008
- November 5, 2004
Ironically enough, the Venus-Jupiter conjunction was expected to occur in 2032 according to Rice University in April 2022. Read this post to learn more. However, the Venus-Jupiter conjunction has already recurred just one year later. The simulations don't sound to be extremely accurate.

Video

WUSA9, posted a video of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction in the night sky on March 2, 2023:
https://youtu.be/1DJSlBVovmM

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Written by BooleanCube :]