All articles tagged with #planetary conjunction
The article explores various astronomical explanations for the 'Christmas Star,' including a bright comet from 5 BCE, a supernova observed in 4 BCE, and planetary conjunctions, but concludes that the true nature of the star remains uncertain, possibly a symbolic story rather than a real event.
On November 12, viewers can observe Mercury and Mars close together in the southwestern evening sky just after sunset, with Mercury about 5 degrees above the horizon and near Mars, which is 1 degree to its upper right. The planets will be visible briefly before they set, as Mercury moves away from Mars in its orbit. This event occurs during Mercury's retrograde motion and Mars's prograde motion, with both planets approaching their respective solar conjunctions in late November and January 2026.
On September 19, early risers in North Jersey witnessed a rare planetary conjunction where the waning crescent moon appeared close to Venus and Regulus in the eastern sky during sunrise, offering a stunning celestial display.
Mercury and Jupiter will appear close together in the evening sky around June 7, visible for about 45 minutes after sunset in the northwestern horizon, offering a rare planetary conjunction that can be observed with binoculars, providing a spectacular view of two very different planets in our solar system.
Jupiter will be visible near a very thin crescent moon on May 27-28, 2025, offering a rare skywatching opportunity shortly after the new moon phase, with the best viewing conditions occurring in the early evening just after sunset.
June offers a range of celestial spectacles for stargazers, including a potential nova explosion in the T Coronae Borealis system, the Strawberry Moon on June 21, the summer solstice on June 20, and a planetary conjunction on June 3. These events provide unique opportunities for observation and celebration, making June a special month for astronomy enthusiasts.
On February 22, Venus and Mars will appear side by side in the predawn sky, forming a planetary conjunction. Venus will outshine Mars, and the best way to view this event is with binoculars. Observers in the Northern Hemisphere can see the two planets shine together in the east-southeast from around one hour before sunrise. Although the planets appear close together, they will actually be more than 100 million miles apart from each other. This is one of several planetary conjunctions in 2024, including Jupiter and Uranus, Mars and Uranus, and Mars and Jupiter.