PLAN IT!
Mars and Jupiter to ‘meet up’ in sky in rare event that won’t happen again until 2033 – trick to seeing it this week
Make sure you follow our top stargazing tips
MARS and Jupiter will almost touch in the night sky in a rare event that won't happen again for nearly a decade.
The planetary meet-up is taking place later this week, and last occurred in 2018.
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Of course the planets themselves aren't actually moving next to each other.
They'll still be hundreds of millions of miles apart.
But from the perspective of a viewer on Earth, it'll look like there's only a very small gap between the pair.
This rendezvous – known as "minimum separation" – will see the planets less than a degree apart.
The bad news is that the true "minimum separation" happens during the daylight hours on Wednesday, but it'll look much the same during the night too.
You'll want to look towards the eastern sky just before dawn for the best view of the planets.
Jupiter will be significantly brighter than Mars, and will seem to almost form a twin planet.
The next Mars-Jupiter conjunction isn't going to happen until December 1, 2033.
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It'll be an even closer meet-up, but it's a long wait – so better to check out Wednesday's spectacle to sate your stargazing appetite.
If the weather is good then it should be very easy to see, as planets are typically among the brightest objects in the night sky.
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TIPS FOR STARGAZING
The night sky is amazing, and totally free. So make sure you’re making the most of your time looking up at it.
The first and most obvious one is get away from light pollution.
It’s an absolute killer for stargazing, and even heading just slightly away from a city can massively improve your view of the sky.
Secondly, you need to make sure you give your eyes time to adapt.
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Staring at the night sky for about half an hour will massively improve your ability to see what’s going on above.
It might be worth investing in a red-light flashlight, as this lets you see what’s going on around you without messing with your vision.
And a common mistake is checking your phone. If you look at a bright white app then that’s going to absolutely kill your eye’s adjustment to the dark.
There is an exception to this rule, though.
Mars facts
Here's what you need to know about the red planet...
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
- It is named after the Roman god of war
- The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here
- Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest
- Mars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth
- It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun
- The planet has a diameter of 4,212 miles, and has an average distance from Earth of 140 million miles
- Martian temperatures can vary wildly, reaching as high as 70F/20C or as low as -225F/-153C
There’s a great app called Night Sky that lets you point your phone at the sky to see exactly where certain space objects are.
And thankfully it’s extremely dark as an app, so it shouldn’t mess with your night vision.
Download the app and you’ll be able to find specific objects like stars and planets.
Also, you’ll want to plan ahead of time when it comes to moving objects.
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For instance, it’s possible to see the ISS from Earth. But you’ll want to look up the ISS’s movements beforehand so you know what time to look out for it.
It’s also possible to see Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, but they move very quickly across the sky.
That means they’re easily missed, but you should also be able to use this speed to help you spot them easily against the still backdrop of space.
Similarly, you’ll want to choose a good night for viewing based on the Moon’s phases.
Seeing the full Moon is amazing, but it can also mess with your eye’s adjustment, and can also limit what you can see nearby.
You can also plan for common space events like meteor showers, or when bright planets like Venus or Mars are visible.
How far away is Jupiter from Earth?
Learn how long it takes to get the largest planet in the solar system...
- At the closest point in their respective orbits, Jupiter and Earth are around 365 million miles apart.
- But because neither planet spins around the sun in a perfect circle, nor at the same speed, this number fluctuates dramatically.
- When they are furthest apart the planets are 601 million miles apart, more than two thirds farther away than they are at their nearest.
- As it is further away Jupiter takes 11.86 Earth-years to complete one orbit of the sun.
- While we travel around our star we catch up with the gas Giant once every 399 days, causing the gas giant to appear to travel backwards in the night sky.
A telescope is obviously a great addition to your stargazing arsenal.
But don’t forget that binoculars are also brilliant for viewing many space objects – and often far cheaper too.
Plus you’re more likely to have a pair at home.
You’ll be able to get a stunning view of the Moon’s surface with even a cheap pair of binoculars.
For snapping the night sky, I can’t recommend enough how important a tripod is.
You can get tripods for your phone very cheaply, and it’ll allow you to take much better long exposure shots of the night sky.
But make sure to wipe your lens first, as you don’t want a smudge ruining your great snaps.
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And finally, remember to wrap up warm. It can get very cold at night even in warm locations.
So you don’t want to have to head home early because you didn’t dress properly for the cold outdoors.
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