The cosmos is in constant motion and in July the movements of the heavenly bodies are a particularly welcome pleasure for the local people. The two planets that are on either side of the earth – Mars and Venus – are on the verge of drifting relatively close to one another, at least in large space.
This planetary conjunction, or “kiss” as it is colloquially known, will begin in the early hours of Monday morning and last until Tuesday. Although it starts early, you don’t have to stay up early in the morning to catch a glimpse.
What is a conjunction?
It’s really simple: a conjunction is the passage of two or more celestial bodies. Last month that Moon and Mars are aligned in a higher conjunctionthat occurs when objects go into orbit behind the sun, sometimes making them visible to onlookers on the ground. Inferior conjunctions are less exciting because they involve objects floating in front of the sun, which affects their visibility.
It’s called a “kiss” because it’s a fleeting moment of symmetry. According to the BBC’s sky at night, Next week’s conjunction is a pretty normal stargazing tariff:
The most commonly observed conjunctions involve the moon, often as a sickle in the evening or morning sky, along with one of the bright planets – Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn.
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Technically, two or more celestial bodies must maintain the same right ascension, or “ecliptic longitude in the sky,” for a true conjunction, as Sky at Night notes. Not all conjunctions fit the bill, and the one that comes up on Monday might be what you call a “conjunctive light,” since the Moon and Mars technically don’t have the same right ascension. these are the same coordinates, measured from east to west.
Either way, it should provide good visibility, especially if you have powerful binoculars or a telescope on hand.
How to see the conjunction of Mars and Venus
The planets meet around 2 a.m., Easter on Monday, July 12th Astronomy explains their closest association will not be until six hours later on Monday morning, when the planets are “separated by less than the diameter of a full moon”.
The United States doesn’t have the best lookout point in the world when it comes to taking in the views. The evenings of July 12th and 13th offer the same closeness between the two planets – about 33 degrees apart – visible in the US, which is the best our geography can afford.
Astronomy explains when to see the conjunction and where to look exactly on Tuesday evening:
On July 13, the pair becomes visible deep in the west about 45 minutes after sunset, local time. The two planets are initially 16 ° above the western horizon and then sink below 1 hour and 42 minutes after the sun.
Mars appears a little fainter than Venus, so you may need to “fade the twilight a bit so you can see the red planet,” the publication said. Your best chance of seeing the planets with some degree of vibrancy is with binoculars or a telescope and a few practical stargazing apps could also help your planetary aspirations.
