In a phenomenon that will not be repeated before 2033.. Mars and Jupiter will be in conjunction on Wednesday

Arab Weather - On Wednesday night, the planets Mars and Jupiter will approach each other at their closest point this decade, and from our perspective on Earth, they will appear so close that a small slice barely separates them.
Despite this apparent proximity, the two planets are actually more than 350 million miles (575 million kilometers) apart in their orbits around the Sun.

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Event timing and best times to view

Mars and Jupiter will reach their closest approach — about one-third of a degree, or one-third the width of the moon — during daylight hours on Wednesday in most of the Americas, Europe and Africa. However, according to John Giorgini of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the two planets won't appear much different a day earlier, when the sky is dark, making the hours before sunrise the best time to view them.

• Importance of the event for astronomy enthusiasts

The best views of this event are in the eastern sky near the constellation Taurus. These phenomena are known as planetary conjunctions, and they only happen every three years or so. “These events are an opportunity for astronomers to witness an extraordinary view, and the science lies in being able to accurately predict such events years in advance,” Giorgini noted.

• History and future outlook

Mars and Jupiter haven't been in this conjunction since 2018, and won't happen again until 2033. Their closest conjunction in the past thousand years was in 1761, when they appeared as a single bright object.

• Perseid Meteor Shower: Extra Special View

This latest conjunction of Mars and Jupiter coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, one of the brightest of the year. No binoculars or telescopes are needed to view it, as it can be seen with the naked eye.

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