The celestial event can be easily seen with the naked eye when one looks to the west side in the sky after sunset.
On July 13, Mars and Venus will appear to be only 0.5 degrees apart though quite far from each other in actual distance. A day before, the crescent Moon also will align with the two planets. “Mars and Venus are passing close to each other in the sky and will be only 0.5 degrees (as wide as the size of the Moon) on 13 July. The Moon will also be close to them on 12 July. This is a naked eye event, so go out and see them even from today,” the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru tweeted on Thursday.
A planetary conjunction occurs when any two astronomical objects appear to be close to each other in the sky, when observed from Earth. In this case, the crescent Moon will join the two planets making it a three-celestial body conjunction. Soundararaja Perumal, executive director of the Birla Planetarium, said no exclusive viewing of the event would be organised due to the pandemic. “Go to your terrace and look up in the sky to the west, Mars will appear faint and Venus will appear bright. On July 12, a thin crescent moon will be above these two bodies. On July 13, you can spot both the planets appear closer than the previous day,” he said.
One can also use a telescope for better viewing. Perumal said while such conjunctions are common, the last time Mars and Venus appeared closer by less than a degree was on August 24, 2019.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/chennai-skywatchers-get-ready-for-rare-planetary-conjunction/articleshow/84286423.cms
