JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The heavens will put on quite a show the next couple of nights as Jupiter and Venus get ready to collide -- sort of.
Like two love birds, the two planets have been moving closer and closer together over the past several months, appearing closer and closer together in the evening sky.
According to Sky & Telescope, they'll be just 0.3 degrees apart in the sky, or about the width of a chopstick at arms length.
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Of course the planets won't really collide. According to the same article by Sky & Telescope, in reality, they're [planets] very far apart in space. Venus is currently 48 million miles from Earth; Jupiter is a dozen times farther away at 565 million miles, on the other side of the solar system.
While you certainly don't need a telescope to see this heavenly display, if you're wanting the best optimal viewing, according to Universetoday.com, point-and-shoot camera owners should place their camera on a tripod, adjust the ISO or sensitivity to 100, open the aperture or f/stop to its widest setting (f/2.8 or f/4), autofocus on the planets and expose from 5-10 seconds in mid-twilight or about 1 hour to 90 minutes after sunset. The low ISO is necessary to keep the images from turning grainy. High-end digital SLR cameras have no such limitations and can be used at ISO 1600 or higher. As always, review the back screen to make sure you're exposing properly.
Sky & Telescope points out that this current string of Venus-Jupiter conjunctions closely resembles a similar series between the years 3 and 2 B.C. It has been suggested that their joint appearance might have been what came to be known as the Star of Bethlehem.
According to planetsave.com, the Star of Bethlehem hasn't been seen in the night sky in some 2,000 years, with the night of June 30th being the first time in two millenia. According to the Bible in the book of Matthew 2:1, this is the star that the Wise Men followed to find Jesus.
The two can be seen in the western sky on the evening of June 30th. Both planets will appear to be the same size -- even though Jupiter is more than ten times further away and also many times larger than Venus.
The brightest planet will be Venus and Jupiter will be on top and be a bit dimmer in nature.
Whether it's of religious significance or not, it promises to be pretty spectacular. If you can't see it tonight due to schedule or clouds, you'll be able to witness the two plants close together on the evening of July 1.