Illustrative photo – The planet Venus (on the image of the Japan National Space Agency from May 2016).
Prague – Today, the planets Venus and Jupiter and the Moon will approach each other in the evening sky. The so-called conjunction occurs at the moment when objects in the sky approach each other from the position of the observer. Today's triple conjunction will be visible already at dusk after 17:00 low above the west-southwest horizon, the Physics Institute in Opava said in a press release.
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According to the Prague Planetarium, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest planets, people can observe their conjunction roughly once or twice a year. During today's close encounter, according to the constitution, the Moon will be projected between them in an almost isosceles triangle. The best spectacle will be offered by the space object at 18:00 very low in the west. At that time, however, the bodies will be descending to the horizon, so the institute recommends that those interested observe the triple conjunction from a high place.
People will be able to see the close meeting of Venus and Jupiter in early March. According to the Prague Planetarium, the conjunction will be best visible on Wednesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 2. These days, therefore, the Štefánik Observatory in Prague and the Ďáblice Observatory in Prague will exceptionally extend their opening hours from 18:00 to 19:00.
In the past, people attached great importance to planetary conjunctions. For example, in the year seven BC there was a rare triple conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, which is sometimes associated with the Star of Bethlehem. Two years before our era, the planets Venus and Jupiter came so close to each other that it was impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye, so they merged into one distinct “star”.
