Venus and Jupiter to Meet in the Sky

Early Monday morning, Jupiter and Venus will come together for a brilliant cosmic show as they move closer to one another.

In this phenomenon, known as a conjunction, two or more solar system bodies make a close approach to one another, according to EarthSky.org. It also occurs when a single solar system body gets near another object in the sky, such as a star. 

During their close encounter, the planets will be less than 0.3 degrees apart, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This is less than the diameter of a full moon.

They will come closest together and reach their actual conjunction at 1:05 a.m.; however, neither planet will rise for observers on the East Coast until around 5:30 a.m., Space.com reports. For observers on the West Coast in Los Angeles, the planets will rise around 5:18 a.m. 

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Though the two planets appear to be close together from our viewpoint on Earth, they are actually hundreds of millions of miles away from each other, according to a 2015 article from NASA on a previous encounter between the two planets. 

Typically the best stargazing conditions involve dark skies; however, Jupiter and Venus will shine brightly enough that they can be spotted even from large cities. 

JPL cautioned stargazers to protect their eyes while watching the conjunction and instructed them not to aim their binoculars right at the sun, or look at the approaching sunrise with unshielded eyes or telescopes.