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Venus and Jupiter appear 'close to colliding' early Saturday
Two of the solar system's brightest planets,Venus and Jupiter, appeared close to each other or even touched each other in the Earth's night sky in the morning of Saturday (Apr 30).
Although, they are millions of miles apart, but from Earth they appear close to colliding.
This phenomenon is known as a conjunction. It happens annually but this year the two planets will appear much closer than usual.
A conjunction occurs when two planets (or other celestial bodies) appear, from the vantage point of Earth, close to one another in the sky.
However, the same spectacle won't occur again like this until 2039, the BBC said.
The conjunction will continue Sunday morning as the planets will go their separate ways in the coming days.
It can be seen from both of Earth's hemispheres at different times of day and night.
According to NASA, Venus’s orbit is closer to the Sun than the Earth’s, and Jupiter’s orbit is much farther away, so the proximity is an illusion, occurring only because Earth, Venus, and Jupiter happen to be approximately aligned.
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It added that this celestial event will continue on the morning of May 1, but the positions of the planets, Jupiter and Venus, will be reversed.
levantnews, news agencies
