After spending the week glued to the TV and our devices, we could all take a break from the screens. Fortunately, the night sky has a whole weekend of entertainment for us, in the form of a rare conjunction of three planets with Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. The last time this particular combination occurred was in October 2015. Here’s what you need to know about it. astronomical highlight of the weekend, and how to see some planets.
Didn’t we have a planetary conjunction?
As you may recall, after seeing a news story about him every day for three months, on December 21, 2020, we were given away “Great Conjunction,” once every 800 years also known as the “Christmas Star”, also known as the “Kiss of the Planets”. That one only involved two planets (Jupiter and Saturn), though it did incredibly well together. He one this weekend presents these two planets, plus Mercury, although it will not be so rare like last month.
How to see the conjunction of the three planets
The reunion of the three planets began last night and is visible tonight, tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday night. All the planets will emerge low to the west, near the point of sunset on the horizon, with Jupiter the brightest of the three, followed by Mercury and then Saturn, according to EarthSky. The closest grouping of the planets will be tomorrow night.
G / O Media may receive a commission
If there is a clear sky in your area, you should be able to see the conjunction without binoculars, but if you have them, you could also use them for even better vision. The best time to catch the conjunction is right after sunset, which makes it nice and early for kids to take a look before going to bed.
And if you miss this conjunction of three planets, another one will come next month, with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter.