This April, four planetary conjunctions will take place. Learn how and when to see them.
April 5: Mars-Saturn conjunction
On April 5, 2022, at 01:45 GMT, Mars and Saturn will appear close together, with Saturn passing 0°19' to the north of Mars. They will meet in the constellation Capricornus, glowing at a magnitude of 0.7 (Saturn) and 1.0 (Mars). Venus will also join their company, shining nearby at a magnitude of -4.3. All of them will be visible even to the naked eye. The 4-days-old Moon won’t interfere with the observations.
April 12: Jupiter-Neptune conjunction
On April 12, 2022, at 20:05 GMT, Jupiter and Neptune will merge in the constellation Aquarius, separated by only 0°06'. Jupiter will be the brightest of the two, shining at a magnitude of -2.1. Neptune will be much dimmer with a brightness of 8.0. Try using a telescope or binoculars to observe the planets. Best time to start the observations is in the early morning.
April 18: Mercury-Uranus conjunction
On April 18, 2022, at 13:47 GMT, Mercury (magnitude -1.0) will pass 2°08' to the north of Uranus (magnitude 5.9). They will meet in the constellation Aries. The conjunction is more convenient to observe from the Northern Hemisphere. Grab a pair of binoculars and try to spot the planets in the evening sky.
April 30: Venus-Jupiter conjunction
On April 30, 2022, at 19:56 GMT, Venus will meet Jupiter in the constellation Pisces. The planets will be passing each other at a record short distance of 14'. You may have seen the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in December 2020, when the two planets were only separated by 6'. This time, Jupiter and Venus will be almost as close. From the Earth, it might seem like Venus (magnitude -4.1) and Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) are merging into one point of light, bright enough to observe with an unaided eye.
Mars will add up to the unique scene, shining nearby with a magnitude of 1.1, which, of course, is not as radiant as Venus and Jupiter combined. The best time to observe the scene is in the morning.
We wish you clear skies and happy observations!
