BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

2 planets will be visible in the night sky this weekend

The planets Venus, bottom, and Jupiter, top, light the sky above Matthews, N.C., Monday, June 29, 2015. NASA says a similar sight — Jupiter and Mars close together in the night sky — can be viewed this coming weekend. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — If you’re up early this weekend, take a look up in the sky and you should be able to see two planets.

According to NASA, the planets Mars and Jupiter will be close to each other in the sky, and visible before dawn Friday through Monday.

What’s happening?

NASA is calling it a Mars-Jupiter conjunction. A conjunction is when two objects in the sky — whether planets, the moon or stars — appear close together.

“In the case of Earth’s solar system, conjunctions happen frequently because our sister planets travel around the sun in a fairly similar ecliptic plane, often appearing to meet in our night sky despite being millions of miles away from one another,” the agency’s website says.

NASA says you’ll be able to see both Mars and Jupiter about 20 degrees above the horizon. They’ll be less than a degree apart at their closest point, or “no more than the width of a raised finger, with Mars appearing just to the lower right of the massive gas giant.”

“Planetary conjunctions traditionally have been more the stuff of astrology than serious astronomy, but they never fail to impress during observations, particular when the gas giants are involved,” Mitzi Adams with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center said.

How can you see it?

The best time to see the planets will be about 45 minutes before sunrise, NASA says. Sunrise will occur at 6:34 a.m. EST Sunday, according to timeanddate.com. You’ll want to look toward the eastern-southeastern sky.

Most stargazers should be able to see Jupiter with just the naked eye because of how bright it will be, according to NASA. But astronomers with the agency say you may need a telescope or binoculars to see Mars, which will not be quite as bright.

“We anticipate Jupiter will shine at a magnitude of -2.2,” NASA astronomer Alphonse Sterling said. “Mars, in comparison, will have a magnitude of just 0.7.”

Space

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

48°F Clear Feels like 48°
Wind
1 mph NNW
Humidity
52%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
46°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
1 mph N
Precip
8%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous