Venus-Jupiter Conjunction: The Morning Star To Come Close To The Gas Giant On March 1. All About It

Venus-Jupiter Planetary Conjunction: On March 1, 2023, Venus and Jupiter will appear in the same part of the sky 1.5 hours after sunset. They will be about half a degree apart.

Venus and Jupiter are headed for a rare planetary conjunction on March 1, 2023. The planets will be 32 arcminutes apart. An arcminute is equal to 1/60 of one degree, which means that 32 arcminutes are almost equal to half a degree. This is equivalent to the width of a full Moon. 

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Venus and Jupiter, the brightest planets in the February night skies, are coming close to each other with each passing day this month. The entire February, the morning star and the gas giant have been shining brightly in the western sky after sunset. The planets appear closer in the western sky each evening, as they are headed for a rare planetary conjunction on March 1, 2023. 

On this day, Venus and Jupiter will appear in the same part of the sky 1.5 hours after sunset, in an event known as a conjunction. According to timeanddate.com, Venus will set at 8:40 pm IST, and Jupiter will set at 8:38 pm IST on March 1. 

What is a conjunction?

According to NASA, a conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets, a planet and the Moon, or a planet and a star appear close together in Earth's night sky, and occurs frequently between planets in the Solar System because they orbit in the Sun in approximately in the same plane, known as the ecliptic plane, and hence, trace similar paths across the sky. 

All about the Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

The planetary conjunction on March 1 will bring Venus and Jupiter 32 arcminutes apart, according to the Edelman Planetarium at Rowan University. An arcminute is equal to 1/60 of one degree, which means that 32 arcminutes are almost equal to half a degree. This is equivalent to the width of a full Moon. 

One can view Venus' gibbous phase and three of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter through a telescope. During the gibbous phase, Venus is further away and appears smaller, when viewed from Earth. The Galilean moons are the four largest moons orbiting Jupiter. 

If the seeing, or the turbulence of air is good, one could spot the cloud bands on Jupiter. 

Venus and Jupiter will appear as two points very close together. One can view the pair in the western sky an hour after sunset, and does not require a telescope or a pair of binoculars to witness the spectacle.

During the conjunction, Jupiter will be shining at -2.1 magnitude, while Venus will shine at -4.0 magnitude, which means that both the planets will outshine all the stars. Since both Jupiter and Venus will be extremely bright, one can spot their conjunction in the night sky, given that the atmospheric conditions are favourable. 

Why do Venus and Jupiter appear so bright?

Venus, which is about the same size and density as Earth, is relatively close to our planet, and is covered with highly reflective clouds which are good at reflecting sunlight. These factors make Venus appear bright to people on Earth. 

According to Earth Sky, Jupiter appears bright because of its size. The gas giant is the largest planet in the Solar System, and is 11 times wider than Earth.