A rare planetary conjunction is when the Moon, Venus and Jupiter are aligned all together in space. Venus moves rapidly around in the sky and is often the first light in the sky every night. Jupiter is known as a normal planet, but, in fact, if you look through a telescope – even a very small one – it has its own satellites that appear and you can see it. A conjunction is when two astronomical objects appear close together in space. It happens mostly with planets but can also happen with any two astronomical objects, including asteroids, moons, stars, and, of course, the Sun. It is hard to know when it happens because it depends where you are on the Earth, but this year in Switzerland the alignment happened in February. This conjunction is special because it won’t happen again until 2040.
Camille Cigognini Year 8