HOW TO SEE A BRIGHT CONJUNCTION

WHEN: LATE FEBRUARY AND EARLY MARCH

In popular parlance, ‘conjunction’ loosely describes when two or more objects appear close to one another in the night sky. There are several formal definitions of conjunction that describe when objects share the same coordinate values, but for general discussions, being ‘close’ is enough to qualify the term.

The planet Venus is now obvious in the post-sunset sky. A brilliant beacon, it’s the brightest of all the planets visible from Earth. Jupiter is second brightest most of the time, except when Mars is brighter for short periods when near opposition. Late February provides an opportunity to spot both Venus and Jupiter as they appear to approach one another in the sky.

The action starts from ➤0 February, when Venus and Jupiter can be seen together above the west-southwest horizon after sunset. Start looking for them around 30 minutes after the Sun goes down, as visibility will become

really obvious an hour after sunset. On this date, when you extend your arm in front of you, they appear to be a fist-width apart.

On ➤1 February, both planets will have moved slightly closer to one another and will be joined by a thin waxing crescent Moon. On ➤➤ February, the Moon will sit between Venus and Jupiter – a lovely sight, given clear skies.

As the evenings progress, the Moon moves ever further eastward, and the planets get closer together. The closest approach occurs on 1 and ➤ March. With both planets being so bright, if you have a phone with camera functionality, why not try and grab a snapshot of the pair?

As quickly as they approached one another, both planets will appear to separate again. Jupiter will slowly drift into the Sun’s glare and be lost from view for a time, but Venus will continue to separate from the Sun to light up the spring evening sky.