A planetary conjunction, what’s up ? “Venus and Jupiter are visually crossing each other in the sky. They have been getting closer for ten days already, and it is quite natural”, explains Véronique Ayrault, astronomy referent of the Veymerange club, in response to the sometimes eccentric questions and hypotheses of the inhabitants on the unusual presence of these two white dots in the sky. “The two stars are at the same level, at the moment, on the line of the ecliptic. It is on this path that all the planets of our system gravitate, with the exception of the sun. Each has its own speed of revolution around the sun. Soon, one planet will overtake the other and we will no longer see them together”, completes the astronomy enthusiast, recalling the etymology of the word planet. ” It means wandering star , which means that they are constantly moving. »
Venus looks bigger than Jupiter in the sky
Jupiter will pass below the horizon line while Venus will continue to “rise” in the sky for a few more weeks. “These are just impressions. For example, the star that seems the biggest is Venus, whereas, in fact, Jupiter is much more massive. This is because Venus is closer to Earth,” she observes. Equipped with her telescope, Véronique Ayrault has been able to observe the satellites of Jupiter and the crescent of Venus in recent days. “We can also look at the planets with the naked eye or with binoculars. It’s still a pretty sight, especially with a clear sky. Worth enduring a bit of the cold at night. »
