Jupiter, Saturn and Mars ignore social distancing as they plan to meet the Moon this week

• Jupiter, Saturn and the Red Planet, Mars, plan to meet up with the Moon this week.
• On April 14, 15, and 16, the Moon will pay each of them a visit as they’re lined up next to each other.
• Such an alignment only occurs once every 20 years or so. This year, it’s the closest that these planets have been in a very long time.

Everyone on Earth may be stuck at home and practising social distancing, but the Jupiter, Saturn and Mars have a ‘close rendezvous’ with the Moon this week.

They’ve been inching closer over the last few weeks and have a planetary quartet planned before Mars slips away from its accompanying gas giants. On April 14, 15 and 16 the four will be aligned and you’ll be able to observe them even without a telescope or binoculars.

It’s a good way to pass the time during the lockdown since the planets won’t be seen together again for a couple of years. According to astronomers, Jupiter and Saturn only come in conjunction once every 20 years before drifting apart again. The last time this phenomenon occurred was in May 2000.

Where and when to spot the rare event
Due to the lockdown, you can’t head outside, but you can always gaze out the window or stand on the balcony. Make sure you’re equipped with a map of the sky before you go stargazing so that you know where to look. If you don’t have one on hand, you can get a night-sky chart from in-the-sky.org or there are also apps like PYOPYO Studio and SkySafari that you can download.

When you’re outside you’ll need to give your eyes at least 15 to 20 minutes to adjust to the night sky. This will make a big difference even if you live in an area where there’s a lot of light pollution.

If you think you’ll still need to have access to your phone, you can also tape something red over it or download a red filter app to reduce the glare.

On the first day, April 14, the Moon will be closest to the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. The following day, April 15, Earth’s natural satellite will be next to the ringed wonder of Saturn. Finally, on April 16, the Moon will meet up with the Red Planet, Mars.

The interesting thing about Mars is that it’s inching closer and closer to Earth, and will continue to get brighter over time. This year it’s going to be the closest it’s been in years, which is why NASA and other space exploration agencies have planned to launch missions towards the God of War. Between now and October, Mars will get 20 times closer, inching towards Earth at around 800,000 kilometres per day.

To track the planets as they move through the sky you can refer to the rise and set timings given below. Astronomers, however, recommend that the best time to view this phenomenon is during the hours before sunrise.

On April 14:

On April 15:

On April 16:

In December, the three planets won’t be coming together but Jupiter and Saturn plan to be closer than they have ever been in centuries. According to astronomers, the planets will be within 0.1 degrees of each other — that’s one-fifth the diameter of the Moon. The only other time that they were this close to each other was back in 1623.

If you have a telescope, this will be the first time that you’ll be able to observe both the planets within the space field of view.

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