Converging Planets

If you’ve never gone outside and looked up at the early morning sky, now’s a better time than ever. This week, Jupiter and Venus have fallen into a remarkably close cosmic alignment in what astronomers call a planetary conjunction. Around the time of a conjunction, two celestial bodies are seen near each other in the sky. On this occasion, Jupiter and Venus will appear to converge on the same location as they cross paths. To naked-eye observers, it will seem as if the planets are almost touching, forming what looks like a double star. The moment of closest approach has already passed, but there’s still time to catch the two planets and the moon in one spectacular view. Watch the video to learn more.

See Science@NASA