On Wednesday night, February 22, 2023, the night sky put on a stunning show around the world as the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter came together in a beautiful celestial dance. This spectacular formation left stargazers awestruck as the three heavenly bodies created a captivating triangle-shaped formation.
The two planets, Venus and Jupiter, had been gradually drawing closer to each other over the past few weeks, after being separated by a significant 29 degrees at the beginning of February. As of February 20, the gap between them had closed to a mere 10 degrees. And by the end of this month, they will be just two degrees apart.
The highlight of this astronomical event will be a rare conjunction event on March 1, where the two planets will be separated by only 0.52 degrees. This means that they will appear to be almost touching, as seen from Earth. This rare event is known as a conjunction, where two celestial objects appear to occupy the same space in the night sky due to their alignment, despite being millions of kilometres apart in reality.
During this conjunction, Jupiter will be visible at magnitude -2.1, while Venus will shine brightly at magnitude -4.0. The minus prefix before the magnitude values indicates exceptionally bright objects as seen from Earth. This means that they will be easily visible to the naked eye, even from light-polluted areas.
Skywatchers around the world are eagerly anticipating this event, which is undoubtedly a visual treat. Some even managed to capture the Wednesday night's union through their cameras. Many photographs from India and around the world have surfaced on social media, showing the stunning beauty of the celestial dance.
The best time to view this rare conjunction event will be just after sunset on March 1, when the planets will be low in the western sky. Stargazers can look for a bright object just above the horizon, which will be Venus. Jupiter will appear slightly higher in the sky and to the left of Venus.
This conjunction event between Venus and Jupiter is a relatively rare occurrence and will not be visible again until 2030. So, be sure to mark your calendars and make time to witness this beautiful celestial dance. It's an opportunity not to be missed!