| Venus, Jupiter Align March 1, 2023 ⬅︎ |
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On March 1, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in Earth's sky, will appear within 0.5° of each other. For comparison, the width of our Moon in the sky is the same 0.5° (or 30 arc-minutes).
Which will be the brighter one? Venus! At magnitude -4.0, it is the brightest planet in Earth's sky simply because it is close to us, close to the Sun and has a mirror-like atmosphere which reflects light from the Sun.
Jupiter is the 2nd brightest of all planets in our sky. It will be at magnitude -2.1 and will appear about six times dimmer than Venus. (Note: magnitudes work on a logarithmic scale.)
If you have a telescope, this would be a great time to check out the phase of Venus (gibbous), and the bands and moons of Jupiter. Jupiter's Great Red Spot will be visible until about 6:30 PM.
Venus info
Jupiter info
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