THERE’S a chance to see Mars, the Moon and Venus lining up near each other in the sky this evening.
Stargazers will need to look to the western horizon just after sunset.
1
What time is the conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Mars tonight?
The spectacle will be visible for about 30 minutes after dark.
It’s best to be in a location with little light pollution.
Sunset in the UK this evening will be around 9:15pm.
It will set just before 9pm in the East Coast of the US.
Try checking out the precise sunset time for your location so you don’t miss your chance to see Mars and Venus line up.
The planets will set about half an hour after sunset so you’ll need to be quick.
How can I see it in the UK?
Weather depending, you should be able to spot the Moon first.
It will look like a thin slim crescent in the western sky just after sunset.
Venus will shine like a bright star to the right and just below the Moon.
Mars will appear as a reddish dot very close and to the right of Venus.
How rare is the conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Mars?
Close pairings of naked-eye planets aren’t rare – however conjunctions that are this easy to be seen don’t come around too often.
The last conjunction between Venus and Mars occurred August 24 2019 but the planets were only 3° from the Sun, and, therefore, invisible.
The most recent visible pairing happened October 5 2017.
When will the next conjunction take place?
The next Venus-Mars conjunction will take place on February 22 2024.
Elon Musk warns humanity may ‘self-extinguish with World War 3’ before we can finish Mars colony
