The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter is visible in the sky tonight.

Today and tomorrow (March 1 and 2), skywatchers will see an unusual sight: the two planets will align in such a way that it will appear that they are touching each other in space.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, and Venus, the brightest, will converge in the so-called conjunction. But what is happening?

What it is?
“A conjunction is when two celestial bodies – usually planets – look very close in the sky from our point of view on Earth,” says Martin Archer of Imperial College London. “The reason this happens is because all the planets around the sun revolve in roughly the same plane, called the ecliptic. This means that from any point of view there can be times when the planets are at the same angle.”

How do you see it?
The connection can be seen with the naked eye, visible in the western sky. This is due to the size of the planets involved. But you can also use binoculars or a telescope.

How often does this happen?
This has to do with Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and how the planets revolve around the sun depending on gravity. “It turns out that there can be many such combinations,” says Archer. “The inner planets rotate faster than the Earth, so from our point of view, we can get a lot of connections.” Venus and Jupiter converge just over once a year.

Why are unions so popular among people?
In light-polluted areas, such as cities, we often don’t see many stars, but we can see planets. “Planets like Venus, Jupiter and Saturn can usually be seen with the naked eye,” says Archer. “To have two of them side by side in the sky is pretty cool.”

Are Jupiter and Venus really close?
Although it may seem that two planetary bodies are in contact, in fact they are not. There are about 600 million kilometers between them, so the connection is nothing to worry about, although in the past some people found these events important.

“These connections used to be a warning sign,” Archer says. “It’s literally because we’re standing in the right spot in the solar system to see them close together. They don’t do anything to each other. It’s just a beautiful light show.”