The pattern in which planets pass each other in the night sky is predictable and sometimes comparable to a choreographed dance. On Thursday night, astronomy enthusiasts can witness the spectacular conjunction of Venus and Jupiter.
In recent weeks, the two brightest planets in our solar system's night sky appeared just after sunset in the west, every day moving closer together. On Wednesday, Venus and Jupiter appeared, to the naked eye, to be touching each other – a phenomenon known as "the kiss of the planets."
Like all the planets in the Earth's solar system, Venus and Jupiter orbit the sun in an elliptical orbit, and when they align, the view from Earth shows them very close together. They appear as being less than one degree apart in the sky, equivalent to the width of a pinkie when held out at arm's length — but in reality, the planets are still hundreds of millions of kilometres apart.
However, this event is still remarkable, as it marks the closest, most easily visible meeting of the two planets since 2015 and it is presumed there will not be another one until 2039.
Wednesday night was considered the best time to witness 'the kiss'. From today, they will gradually move further away from each other again, but as the skies are clear over Belgium today, it is likely to be a clear western horizon, contributing to an ideal scenario to see the planets in proximity.
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To see the planets, look southwest and towards the bottom of the horizon after sunset. Venus will be the first to become visible, followed by Jupiter, which will visually be located above Venus until about 21:00.
This conjunction will be visible with the naked eye, but using binoculars or a small telescope will help see more details.
