Mars and Jupiter's Close Encounter: A Celestial Event

Mars and Jupiter will come together this week for their closest encounter of the decade, writes AP news. This event will allow them to appear so near that a small sliver of the moon could fit between them. However, in reality, these two planets will remain over 350 million miles (575 million kilometers) apart in their orbits.

On Wednesday, the two planets will reach their closest point — one-third of a degree, roughly one-third the width of the moon. This minimum separation will occur during daylight hours for most regions in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. A day before, they will not seem significantly different in proximity, as stated by Jon Giorgini from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Observing this event will be best in the eastern sky, targeting the constellation Taurus just before dawn. This type of event is termed a planetary conjunction, which occurs approximately every three years.

Giorgini noted that such cosmic pairings thrill skywatchers, prompting curiosity about the bright objects close together. The real achievement lies in the ability to predict these events years ahead accurately. Mars and Jupiter haven’t been this aligned since 2018, and the next opportunity will be in 2033 when they’ll be even closer.

Historically, the closest approach in the last millennium was in 1761. At that time, Mars and Jupiter looked like a single bright object to the naked eye, noted Giorgini. Looking further ahead, nearly similar proximity will occur again in 2348.

This fascinating alignment also coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, recognized as one of the year's most brilliant displays. Observers will not need binoculars or telescopes to enjoy this spectacular cosmic event.

Earlier SSP reported that Gaia telescope uncovers 352 asteroids orbiting potential moons.