The celestial dance of Venus and Jupiter

On Wednesday evening, Venus will overtake Jupiter in the night sky. This ballet occurs once a year, but is rarely as visible as this winter – provided the sky is not veiled.

“In the night sky, Venus approaches Jupiter and passes it approximately once every 13 months,” explains Marc Jobin, astronomer at the Montreal Planetarium. “This year, we have remarkable conditions, we can see them very well. It is not always as favorable as this winter. There are other conjunctions where Venus and Jupiter are very low on the horizon, it is more difficult to see them. »

Since the start of the week, Venus has been below Jupiter in the sky, but is getting closer to it. In the next few days, Venus will hover above the largest planet in our solar system and move away from it. The phenomenon is called a “conjunction” of the two planets.

Depending on the year, Venus is higher or lower in the night sky, where it is visible just before dawn and just after dusk. “Venus is at most 46 or 47 degrees above the horizon,” says Mr. Jobin. Venus’ position in the night sky follows an eight-year cycle. In this eight-year cycle, Venus will be quite high in the night sky five times. »

Jupiter and Venus are the two brightest points in the sky, after the sun and the moon. Jupiter takes 12 years to go around the sun. This means that year after year this planet is in a different place in the night sky. “She moves from one zodiac constellation to another roughly every year,” says Mr. Jobin.

Venus is the second planet from the sun, after Mercury. Jupiter is the fifth and is five times farther from our star than Earth.