How to See the Conjunction Between Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon

This communicative originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

August has delivered galore spectacular sights successful the nighttime sky: a supermoon, meteor showers, and supercharged auroras. Mars and Jupiter besides presently look unusually adjacent unneurotic successful the nighttime sky, successful what’s known arsenic a conjunction. They appeared closest during the aboriginal greeting of August 14 and are present gradually moving apart, and won’t beryllium this adjacent again successful the entity until 2033.

But portion they are inactive close, astatine the extremity of the month—on August 27—they’ll beryllium joined by a 3rd protagonist, the moon, producing a uncommon triple conjunction of the 3 bodies adjacent together. The satellite volition beryllium successful its crescent phase, and according to the constellation-tracking app Star Walk, volition beryllium 40 percent illuminated. This alteration successful brightness volition marque it imaginable to spot the reddish dot of Mars and the larger prima Jupiter adjacent to it.

It isn’t indispensable to person telescopes oregon binoculars to bask the conjunction, though it’s indispensable to beryllium successful a spot distant from airy pollution. Photographers with acquisition viewing astronomical events urge going to a precocious spot to presumption the phenomenon, specified arsenic a upland oregon the extortion of a house—but if you do, marque definite you are good sheltered and protected from the cold.

NASA indicates that the triangle betwixt the moon, Mars, and Jupiter volition beryllium disposable to the west, 1 hr earlier sunrise. If a spectator uses precocious observing instruments, they volition besides beryllium capable to spot the red-giant stars Aldebaran supra the triangle and Betelgeuse beneath successful the bluish hemisphere.

Distinguishing Between Planets and Stars

Although they whitethorn look akin successful the sky, planets and stars bash not behave the aforesaid way. Stars support a fixed presumption that changes according lone to the play of the year. The planets, connected the different hand, determination passim the nighttime on a enactment known arsenic an ecliptic. In addition, the stars twinkle oregon look to alteration successful brightness, portion the planets support a changeless luminosity.

Only 5 planets tin beryllium seen with the bare oculus from Earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Each assemblage appears regularly successful the sky, but due to the fact that they determination astatine antithetic speeds and their region from Earth varies, they person unsocial behaviors astatine night. For example, Mercury and Venus tin beryllium seen lone astatine dusk oregon dawn, portion Mars oregon Jupiter radiance passim the night.