Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (RJP)
Pics supplied by Dr A P Bhat, Poornaprajna College
Mangaluru, Jun 30: Planets Venus and Jupiter will meet in a cosmic spectacle on Tuesday, June 30 and Wednesday, July 1.
This special cosmic illusion will make the planets appear to merge in the sky. This chance alignment of the two planets is very rare. Some say similar alignment was responsible for 'Star of Bethlehem'.
Venus and Jupiter will be visible near each other in skies around the world for two days in a rare conjunction event. The planets, which are hundreds of millions of miles from each other, will for a short period of time seem to be galactic neighbours, passing so close they seem to merge. It will be the closest conjunction of the two planets until August 2016.The two planets are the brightest in the night sky as seen from earth.
The line-of-sight illusion is caused when the orbits of Venus and Jupiter line up on the same side of the sun as seen from Earth. As Venus orbits in 225 days, Earth in 365 and Jupiter in 4,330, the chance of such as alignment occurring is fairly rare. Scientists say that the two planets will be so close together that they will look like a tight, brilliant double star in the evening sky. Jupiter would appear circular, while Venus will appear as a crescent.
The planets will appear 22 minutes of arc apart, which is a measurement used in astronomy to track the size and positions of objects in the night sky. For comparison,the full moon is 30 minutes of arc across.
Venus is now just over 90 million kilometres from Earth and Jupiter about 10 times further at 900 million kilometres.But Jupiter is also 11.8 times bigger than Venus, which means that the two planets will appear as a similar size.
A small telescope or a pair of binoculars will easily resolve the two planets, and show them in the same field of view.
If the skies are brighter, then this rare event can be viewed from the coastal region at 6.30 pm of Tuesday and Wednesday. Enthusiasts have already done preparations to view the event with a prayer that rain should not disturb them.
Says Dr A P Bhat of Poornaprajna College, Udupi, "Venus and Jupiter are spectacular in the western twilight sky, as viewed from around the world. They are the sky’s two brightest star like objects, and have been drawing closer together throughout June. On the nights of June 30 and July 1, you can witness the closest Venus-Jupiter conjunction until August 27, 2016.
"They're the brightest celestial objects after the Sun and Moon. Although they'll appear near one another, they're actually not. The Moon is closest to us, just 247,000 miles (400,000 km) away. Venus is 56 million miles (90 million km) from Earth, and Jupiter is 10 times farther out at just over 550 million miles (890 million km).
"Even more dramatic event occurs on June 30, when Venus and Jupiter will appear so close together - just 1⁄3° apart - that they'll look like a tight, brilliant double star in the evening sky. You'll be able to cover both with the tip of an outstretched finger," Dr Bhat adds.