One alignment of planets can be seen with the naked eye in the sky of Brazil in the early hours of next Saturday (29). Just before dawn, it will be possible to observe SaturnThe Moon, Mars It is Jupiter forming a straight line.
The phenomenon, called conjunction in astronomy, it will be visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres.
A conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies appear close together in the sky — an optical illusion, as they are separated by thousands of kilometers in space.
Although the phenomenon occurs on June 29, the alignment of the planets with the Moon should also be visible a few days before or a few days after.
How to observe the alignment of the planets?
According to Rodolfo Langhi, coordinator of the Didactic Astronomy Observatory at Unesp, the best time to observe the planets forming a “line” in the sky with the Moon will be just before sunrise.
And the best way to observe the alignment is with the naked eye, looking for the conjunction of the stars close to the horizon, in the east direction. It is preferable to look for a place where there are no obstacles blocking the view of the horizon to observe the phenomenon.
“The observation of the conjunction of all of them together must be [feita] with the naked eye, as the stars will be spread across the sky in a very wide field of view. If you have binoculars or a telescope, just point to each star separately to view it with magnification”, explained Langhi.
“Secret participation”
Langhi also added that the alignment of the planets with the Moon has a “secret participation”: Uranuswhich would be between Mars and Jupiter in the sky, but is not visible to the naked eye.
The five planets visible to the naked eye in the night sky are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Of these, three will be part of the conjunction with the Moon on Saturday.
Other conjunctions in June
On Thursday (27) and Friday (28), it will also be possible to observe two other conjunctions in the night sky.
The Moon will appear to be very close to Saturn during the early hours of the 27th. Both stars should rise in the east.
The next day, Jupiter passes next to the Hyades star cluster, shortly before dawn, also in an easterly direction.
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