Updated 15:27, 2/3/2023
Wednesday evening brought a unique spectacle for the Czech Republic. In the sky it was possible to observe the close meeting of the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter. But Thursday will also offer suitable conditions for observation. Both bodies just exchange places with each other.
The March meeting of the brightest planets of the night sky was preceded by a conjunction with the Moon on February 22. According to astronomers, Venus and Jupiter meet in the sky quite often, but such an approach as now is extraordinary.
“Conjunctions happen once or twice a year between different planets. Now Venus has met with Jupiter, and the meeting is very close. We don’t see it that close that often. Maybe once every five years, even more closely even in more than ten years,” points out Jan Veselý, an astronomer from the Prague Observatory and Planetarium.
“Jupiter and Venus both Wednesday and Thursday it will only be about half an angular degree apart, which is as much as the Sun or the full Moon measure in the sky,” reports the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic at website.
The longer the western horizon you have, the longer you will be able to observe the pair of planets. ideally in an elevated location. “If you visit the nearest public observatory, you will see both objects in binoculars as a bright oval (Venus) and a fainter disk surrounded by a string of three to four ‘stars’ (Jupiter and its moons). To the naked eye, it will appear as if two distant stars are shining in the sky diamonds together,” astronomers add.
Wednesday directly encouraged observing the conjunction of the planets. “Yesterday it was clear in the whole area, everyone could see it. It is such a striking phenomenon that it is impossible not to notice it,” Pavel Suchan, spokesman for the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, assessed on Thursday.
Some people were amazed by the phenomenon in the sky, others were frightened. The editors of TN.cz were also contacted by readers trying to find out what was happening in the sky. “Today we photographed two objects. I am sending a photo. What could it be?” asked Mr. Kristian, for example. And he was far from the only one.
If you missed this unique event, don’t worry. You’ll get your chance on Thursday. “It was clear and it will be the same today. The conjunction fell at seven o’clock in the morning, which means that Venus and Jupiter were closest to each other. Symmetrical to this, the evenings are suitable for observation,” added Suchan, noting that a careful observer may notice one change compared to Wednesday. “The bodies will switch places. Venus will already be above Jupiter, yesterday it was below Jupiter,” pointed out Suchan.
It will be possible to observe the conjunction between 6 and 8 p.m. “It is still relatively light until 6 p.m., because the sun sets just before that. And after 8 p.m., they (planets) get too low on the horizon. You have to wait for a bit of darkness and then observe the planets before they ‘set’,” he pointed out Breadcrumbs.
Did you catch the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter? You can send us your photos by e-mail zpravy@nova.cz. Thank you!
TN.cz
