Planetary conjunctions never fail to impress during observations, especially when giant planets are involved. Such conjunction, in which two planets come close together in Earth’s night sky- is gonna happen on the nights of May 27-30.
In this conjunction, two planets- Mars and Jupiter– will appear 20 degrees or so above the horizon in the eastern-southeastern sky against the constellation Pisces, approximately 45 minutes before local sunrise.
This Mars-Jupiter conjunction will be visible, barring local weather issues, in the predawn hours each morning from May 27 to May 30. The conjunction will peak at 3:57 a.m. CDT on May 29. The palents- Mars and Jupiter- will be separated by no more than 0.6 degrees.
Alphonse Sterling, a NASA astronomer who works with Adams at Marshall, said, “It might be necessary to use binoculars or a telescope to spot Mars. But, observers should have no trouble identifying Jupiter, even with unaided eyes.”
“We anticipate Jupiter will shine at a magnitude of -2.2. Mars, in comparison, will have a magnitude of just 0.7.”
NASA mentioned in blog, “Mars and Jupiter are millions of miles away from us, of course – more than 136 million miles will separate Earth and Mars at the time of the conjunction, with Jupiter nearly four times further away. Even so, Jupiter will be the far brighter of the two.”
Mitzi Adams, an astronomer, and researcher at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said, “It’s thrilling to look up and recognize that these two worlds represent the breadth of NASA’s planned and potential goals for science and exploration. As NASA prepares to send the first human explorers to the planet Mars, the possibilities could be virtually limitless for groundbreaking scientific discoveries among Jupiter’s fascinating moons.”
Sterling said, “This conjunction brings together two vastly different worlds, which both promise to help us better understand our solar system, humanity’s place in the cosmos, and where we may be headed as a species.”
“Get outside before sunrise on May 29 and see them for yourself – and imagine all we’ve yet to learn from them.”