Stargazers are in for a treat this weekend, with the moon and a stunningly bright Venus set to appear very close to each other in the heavens.
The event—known as a conjunction—will grace skies over the U.S. on Saturday evening, weather permitting.
From the perspective of a viewer in the U.S., the pair will appear separated by just 2.4 degrees across the sky—although in reality they remain tens of millions of miles apart.
Venus will be near its maximum brightness, while the moon is both in its waxing crescent phase and at its monthly ‘perigee’—its closest approach to Earth—10,500 miles nearer than average at 228,000 miles.
“If this were a full moon, it would be called a supermoon,” said astronomer Jeffrey Hunt on his website When the Curves Line Up.
He added: “Because the moon is a crescent and appearing within 5° of Venus, we are dubbing this a “super crescent moon.”
According to Hunt, the time to look out for the conjunction will be shortly after sundown, looking towards the west-southwest.
Both the moon and Venus will be visible to the naked eye. However, those with a telescope will be able to take a closer look at the Evening Star, which will be 37 percent illuminated, also appearing in a crescent.
As with most celestial phenomena, observing the night sky from somewhere away from sources of light pollution like cities will afford a better view. Stargazers would be wise to dress up warmly, in layers, to help fend off the night’s chill.
Alongside the moon and Venus, two other planets will be bright and easily visible after sunset during the conjunction—Jupiter and Saturn.
Saturn, while relatively dim, should be easy to spot, just over 11 degrees closer to the horizon than Venus.
Jupiter, meanwhile, will be visible for about an hour after sunset, appearing in the southeastern sky in the constellation of Taurus.
This is the second and last time the moon and Venus will be in conjunction this year—the pair also appeared to draw close, separated by just a couple of degrees, on January 3.
Last month also delivered a gorgeous “planetary parade”, which saw Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune splayed out in a long arc across the sky.
Such an alignment of six planets is rare—occurring only a few times per decade—unlike conjunctions of two bodies, which can be spied several times across the course of a year.
Those impatient for an astronomical treat might also like to turn their eyes to the skies tonight (January 31) if based in northern Maine and Michigan, where aurora may be visible thanks to a massive hole that has developed in the sun’s upper atmosphere.
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