Two glowing points above the horizon. The close approach of Venus to Jupiter will be visible in the sky later today

The sun is slowly setting and the domes of the Štefánik observatory on Prague’s Petřín are beginning to open. In the first days of March, her telescopes are mainly directed towards two prominent “dots” in the sky. We talk to the head of the observatory, Tomáš Prosecký, about the phenomenon.

“In the sky we can observe the conjunction – that is, the apparent meeting – of the planets Venus and Jupiter, which are actually the brightest planets for an earthly observer,” he explains to us.

Already during February, the gradual approach of Venus to the larger Jupiter was visible in the sky. The cosmic “rendezvous” peaks on these days – Wednesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 2.

How it looks? From the position of an observer on Earth, it appears as if two large “stars” are shining side by side. Venus is the brighter one, Jupiter “shines” a little less.

“From the point of view of an ordinary person, this is of course an exceptional phenomenon, from the point of view of an astronomer, somewhat less so. We can observe this meeting once or twice a year. We can look forward to the next, similarly close one in 2025,” reveals the head of the Petrin observatory.

Elevated terrain and a good view are sufficient for those interested in observation. “There is no need for special technology, both planets are visible with the naked eye. You see them as two bright points above the western horizon,” describes Prosecký. “They can be observed without problems even in the city in poor lighting conditions,” he adds.

On the contrary, according to him, the weather plays a key role. On the first day, the weather was favorable, it was clear and cloudless in Prague. “I hope we can make it on Thursday,” he wishes.

And he adds what time is best to look up: “The conjunction is best observed after dark, before both planets set. That means roughly between six and seven o’clock in the evening,” says Prosecký, taking us into one of the domes to a huge astronomical telescope.

His colleagues have already pointed it towards the western horizon, and even though it’s not even 6 p.m. and there’s still plenty of light outside, the planets are already beginning to loom in the telescope. We can look at them calmly in one of the many viewfinders.

“Of course, we have also adjusted our opening hours for observation, which we are expanding exceptionally. In March, we are normally open from 7 p.m., but for this reason we are already open from 6 p.m. in the evening,” explains the head of the Štefánik observatory.

Slowly, the first visitors begin to flow here. The smaller, western dome, where we are currently standing, will be filled with people in no time. An observatory employee tells them about the evening sky and the conjunction.

It gradually got dark and the pair of space bodies is already visible to everyone through the partially open dome. Visitors take pictures of it on their mobile phones and gradually take turns at the telescope.

“You can see Jupiter here,” the expert points to one of the viewfinders. If you look carefully, you will also see visible orange bands on the planet or four “dots” in the band around it. As we soon learn, these are Jupiter’s so-called Galilean moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

It is also full in the main, largest dome, and sometimes a long line forms in front of the observatory’s ticket office on the ground floor.

“I’m coming late and there’s a line inside, so I don’t know if I’ll still be able to watch it,” one of the women interested in today’s celestial phenomenon tells us a little nervously. She stood outside the entrance for a while, deciding whether or not to postpone the visit to the next day. “I was about to give up, but I’m finally going to try,” she adds.

However, not all visitors who headed to the observatory on Wednesday knew what would be special in the sky. “And what exactly is there to see? Venus and Mars?” asks one of the visitors, for example. “No no, it’s Venus and Jupiter,” the observatory worker corrects her.

“Don’t you know what’s happening in the sky?” asks a passing couple on a walk in Petrin Park, which surrounds the observatory. “We’ve been watching the two points for a while now, but we don’t know what they are.” They get an answer from us and happily move on. “It’s very nice,” they comment as they leave.