After spending the week glued to the TV and our devices, we could all use a break from the screens. Fortunately, the night sky has a whole weekend of fun for us, in the form of a rare conjunction on three planets, with Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. The last time this special combination was produced was in October 2015. Here’s what you need to know about it the astronomical highlight of the weekend, and how to see some planets.
Didn’t I just have a planetary conjunction?
As you recall seeing a news story about it every day for three months, on December 21, 2020, we were treated with a The “great conjunction” once every 800 years alias “Christmas Star” alias “Kissing the Planets”. That involved only two planets (Jupiter and Saturn), although they were incredible close. one this weekend presents those two planets – plus Mercury – although it will not be as rare like last month.
How to follow the conjunction of the three planets
The meeting of the three planets actually started last night and is visible tonight, tomorrow (Sunday) evening and Monday evening. All the planets will come out to the west – close to the sunset point on the horizon – Jupiter being the brightest of the three, followed by Mercury and then Saturn, according to EarthSky. The closest grouping of the planets will be tomorrow night.
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If there is clear sky in your area, you should be able to see the conjunction without binoculars – but if you happen to have them, you might as well use them to get an even better picture. The best time to catch the conjunction is immediately after sunset – making it beautiful and early, so that children can take a look before bed.
And if you miss this conjunction with three planets, one will appear next month, with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter.