(ORDO NEWS) — In February, the Russians will be able to observe the conjunction of planets in the sky at dawn four times, the best visibility of this astronomical phenomenon may be in the southern regions of Russia, Nikolai Zheleznov, senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS.
“Such phenomena occur quite often in a year, when certain planets find a connection with respect to the Earth. Four connections only this month. 19 connections usually occur a year,” Zheleznov said. “The region for observation is not so important. But the further south, the better, I think so. Phenomena can be seen in any territory at dawn.”
The first conjunction of the planets this month – Venus and Saturn – will occur on February 6. The conjunction of the two brightest planets in the solar system – Venus with Jupiter – is expected on February 11, they will be in the range of about 0.4 degrees (slightly less than the diameter of the moon) during this approach. Mercury and Venus will approach each other on February 10 in an interval of about 5 degrees, Mercury with Jupiter on February 15.
According to Zheleznov, currently there are unfavorable conditions for observing the planets. “Now such a situation is that almost all the planets, except for Mars and Uranus, are near the Sun, that is, they seem to“ hid and left. ”Such a local phenomenon. Even if there is a passage somewhere, we will not really see it, because that the Sun rises with the planets, – said the astronomer. – But if there is a great desire to see, then at dawn you need to climb somewhere on the mountain, where there is an open horizon to the east side, and immediately before sunrise, these planets will rise.”
The scientist recalled that Mercury and Venus are internal planets that are located between the Sun and the Earth. Mercury travels faster than other planets and orbits the Sun in just 88 Earth days.
“The rest of the planets are moving more slowly. The Earth is moving fast compared to the outer planets. Venus is the inner planet, Jupiter is the outer one, it is beyond the orbit. If they are on the same side of the Earth, then, naturally, someday they will connect with respect to us, Since Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, this conjunction will be near the Sun, “added an employee of the institute.
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