The two brightest planets in the sky will look almost colliding if you look up at the right moment this weekend.
Venus will appear just 0.2 degrees – less than the diameter of the full moon – south of Jupiter in its closest planetary conjunction, according to astronomical site EarthSky.
The planets will in fact still be millions of miles apart, but from Earth they will look as if they are almost touching or colliding.
Experts say people who get up early can catch the rare spectacle if they look east at the sunrise on Saturday morning, April 30 and Sunday, May 1.
The next meeting is expected to take place at 19:00 UTC (20:00 BST) on Saturday, before the planets begin to move away from each other again the next day.
This will be the closest that the two planets have appeared since August 2016, according to the astronomical site Space, and the next meeting is expected in March 2023.
Professor Lucy Green, a professor of physics at University College London and chief observer of stars at the Society for Popular Astronomy, told the BBC: “It’s very exciting for astronomers and it’s a really great opportunity for people to go out and see.”
The scientist suggested finding a high place and paying attention to two dazzling bright spots very close to each other low in the sky near the horizon.
“The planets will differ in their brightness,” she said. “Venus is brighter than Jupiter, so it will look dazzlingly bright when you see it. Jupiter will be a little weaker, about one-sixth the brightness of Venus.
Picture of Venus (left) and Jupiter in the sky over Brighton Quay during a planetary conjunction
(PA Media)
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