Venus and Jupiter

[ilan]

Spectacular! Don’t miss Venus and Jupiter
Bruce McClure in TONIGHT | November 22, 2019​

Wow! The sky’s two brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter – are now drawing closer together in the west after sunset. A conjunction between the two planets will happen on November 24, 2019. Venus, the brighter planet as seen in Earth’s sky, will pass a scant 1.4 degrees south of Jupiter. For reference, that’s about three moon-diameters, or about the width of your index finger held at arm’s length.

To maximize your enjoyment of these dazzling worlds – and especially if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, where the two now appear low in the western twilight sky – be sure find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset.

No matter where you are on Earth, Venus and Jupiter will be the first objects in the sky to pop out at dusk. They’ll follow the sun below your horizon as twilight gives way to dark.

The last Venus-Jupiter conjunction happened 10 months ago, on January 22, 2019, and the next one will occur on February 11, 2021. There will be no Venus-Jupiter conjunction in 2020.

So this is a relatively rare event. Don’t miss it.