Jupiter and Venus

 

Look low in the sky, towards the east about one hour before sunrise on Saturday morning April 30, 2022. If the sky is clear, you will see the brightest two “stars” in the sky very, very close to each other. They are Venus, the brightest, and Jupiter, second brightest. Astronomers say they are in conjunction, which means they appear closer together on their respective orbits than they will be at any other time this year. Much farther away towards the west, about a hand’s width, you can see Mars and even farther west, Saturn. They are also much fainter; both are slightly reddish.

You can see Jupiter ad Venus even a half an hour before sunrise, but by that time the sky is too bright to see the redder planets. If you get out too early, the sky will be darker, but they will still be below the horizon. These are four of the commonly seen naked-eye planets. The only other naked eye planet, Mercury, is on the opposite side of the sun, and if you are lucky you can see it in the evening, about an hour after sunset in the west, very low down in the sky.

In the next few mornings, you will see a similar sight as the two planets appear to separate. This is true even in the city lights, because J & V are so bright. Happy viewing. It is worth getting up early to see it. Go out in your night clothes, and then climb back in bed and catch another 40 winks.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

      and the firmament shows his handywork.

Day unto day utters speech,

      and night unto night shows knowledge.

There is no speech nor language,

      where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth,

      and their words to the end of the world.

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

      Psalm 19

 

Happy sky watching!