Two of the brightest celestial objects in the night sky will align during an event known as the Venus-Jupiter Conjunction, which will be visible in Hong Kong at dawn from April 30 to May 2. The planets will be closest to each other on May 1, when they will be visible to the naked eye.
On the morning of May 1, from the Earth’s view, Venus and Jupiter will be separated by a distance of 14 arcminutes (approximately half of the moon) and will be very low in the sky. However, in reality the distance between them will be 692 million km. The Venus-Jupiter Conjunction occurs about once a year, but this one is expected to be particularly striking because of how close the planets will seem to be and how bright they will look.
During the conjunction, Venus will shine bright with an apparent magnitude (the brightness of an astronomical object as viewed from Earth) of -4.1. Jupiter will be to Venus’ upper left and will be slightly dimmer at magnitude -2.1. Those who want a better look at Jupiter’s cloud bands and Galilean moons and Venus in quarter phase all at the same time can use a telescope.
Anyone interested in catching the conjunction should keep an eye on the weather. The Hong Kong Observatory predicts clear skies on April 30, but cloudy and rainy weather on May 1 and May 2.
If you want a spot to watch the event, head to a place with an unobstructed view of the sky and horizon in the east. Some of the best locations include Siu Sai Wan, Clear Water Bay, Sai Kung Waterfront Park, and Tai Po Waterfront Park.
Header image credits: Pato Novoa via WikiCommons
