| 2024 Aug 14: Meeting of the Red Planet and King of Planets (2023-12-16) ⬅︎ |
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When Mars last passed Jupiter in our sky, it was May 28, 2022. At their closest, they were 0.6° (degrees) or 36' (arcminutes) apart. Since a full Moon is 0.5° or 30' in angular size, Mars and Jupiter were apart by just a little more than the width of the Moon.
On August 14, 2024, Mars will once again pass Jupiter but this time they will be just 0.3° or 19' apart, about half the width of the Moon -- very close indeed! The next time they will be this close won't be for over nine years -- in November 2033.
Will Mars and Jupiter actually be close in space? No -- they are always millions of miles apart. They appear close in our sky only when they are in nearly the same direction from us.
Although Jupiter is much further from us than Mars, it will appear far brighter -- about 16 times brighter (magnitude -2.2 vs +0.8). This is because Jupiter is so much larger in our sky -- 37" (arcseconds) vs 6". If you consider that our Moon is 1800" (or 30'), both are actually pretty tiny, especially Mars.
The image above shows their relative sizes at their meeting on August 14th. But this is misleading -- in reality Mars is far smaller than Jupiter. It is only because Mars is so much closer to us that it appears this large compared to distant Jupiter.
When viewed through a binocular or telescope, you'll clearly see two separate worlds with multiple moons in orbit
around tan-colored Jupiter with red-orange Mars nearby. While it is pretty easy to see bands in Jupiter's atmosphere, it is tough to see features on Mars -- they are just so small and any twinkling in our atmosphere will blur them together.
You don't have to wait for August 14th. In fact, Mars and Jupiter will be under 10° apart (less than the width of a fist held at arm's length) from about July 25th through September 2nd. So let's hope for clear skies during this time!
For more info, see
Mars,
Jupiter,
Brightness,
Ecliptic,
Angular Distance, and
Star Guide. |
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