The two brighest planets are coming together.
The Venus-Jupiter conjuction for 2017 – when two of the brighest planets in the night’s sky come together -is taking place on Monday morning.
In a very rare treat for stargazers, the two planets will be passing each other which will be visible in the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise, staying low on the horizon.
According to space.com, Venus will rise in Ireland around 5:56am on Monday morning and will be followed closely by Jupiter at 5:58am.
The two planets, which are about 416 million miles apart in the solar system, are due to rise within 0.3 degrees of each other and will “snuggle” close to each other in the morning.
Astronomers advise that the conjunction will be best viewed in a rural location that is isolated and away from any sort of light pollution.
The public is being advised to remember that the planets will rise so close to each other that they might look like one extremely bright star.
The phenomenon will be visible to the naked eye itself but if you want to have a clearer view for yourself, it’s probably best to use use a telescope or binoculars.
Stargazers in the Ireland will get over an hour of viewing time before light from the sun hides the planets and a clear horizon, preferably on top of a hill or balcony is being recommended as an ideal spot to watch the passing.
A clear sky is preferred in order to get the best glimpse of the conjunction. Met Éireann has said that there will be “a cold, bright start to Monday with frost and fog clearing.
“Thickening cloud will bring rain to western and northern areas later in the morning and to other places later in the day, but amounts are expected to be small and turning milder later in the day with fresh southwest winds.”
Fingers crossed, skies will remain clear and we all get to catch a peak of something truly beautiful.
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