Twenty years ago, the Huygens probe achieved humanity's first landing on a moon in the outer solar system when it touched down on Titan.
Both Venus and Saturn will be in the Aquarius constellation, the water bearer, during their close approach. To help spot it, viewers should look towards the south in the evening sky, using the bright star Fomalhaut in the nearby Piscis Austrinus constellation as a guide to locate Aquarius.
Venus and Saturn will be in conjunction this weekend, appearing side by side in the night sky during January's post-sunset "planet parade."
James Webb Space Telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory captured new images of Saturn's moon Titan. Credit: NASA/STScI/W. M. Keck Observatory/Judy Schmidt | edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta
Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will appear to line up and be bright enough to see with the naked eye in the first few hours after dark. This weekend, Venus and Saturn get especially cozy.
On Jan. 4, Saturn briefly hid behind the crescent moon, escaping the view of skywatchers in Europe, Africa, western Russia and eastern Greenland in an event known as a lunar occultation. Astronomer Gianluca Masi shared a composite photo taken during the event using the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy.
“Saturday evening, January 18: Venus and Saturn will appear nearest to each other. As evening twilight ends at 6:15 p.m. EST, Venus will be 30 degrees above the southwestern horizon with Saturn 2.2 degrees to the lower left. Saturn will set first on the western horizon almost 3 hours later at 9:04 p.m.”
This beautiful image shows Saturn re-emerging from behind our moon after a lunar occultation on 4 January. These occur when the moon passes between Earth and another object in the night sky, blocking it from our view. To the right of Saturn, you might just be able to make out the star 85 Aquarius, which underwent occultation at the same time.
Venus is the planet of love, beauty and pleasure — it governs everything from our finances and relationship dynamics to our values and desires. In Pisces, the love planet immerses itself in the ideal fantasy, encouraging us to dream big when it comes to our desires. This, however, could be our detriment if we lose sight of reality.
Plus: Saturn’s moon Iapetus is visible, our Moon passes the bright star Spica, and Mars skims south of Pollux in Gemini in the sky this week.
As Venus and Saturn meet in Pisces' sign, there's a focus on their life path. Relationships must bring out the best in them to get the stamp of approval from authoritative Saturn. If a connection doesn't challenge Pisces to grow in its emotional intelligence, intuition, and overall self-development, its flaws will undoubtedly become apparent.
Six planets will be in alignment this weekend, with four of them shining bright in one sweeping view. What to know about the planet parade.