Planetary Trio: Will Mars, Venus, and Saturn Still Look as They Are Now Along with the Moon in 2040?

The Earth's closest neighbors, Mars, Venus, and a crescent Moon, will appear along with farther yet massive planet Saturn on the horizon in the predawn hours.

A Forbes report said that the sky on Monday morning will be "quite crowded by planet-watching standards." To witness the occurrence, viewers are encouraged to look for the moon where they are "in the east-southern sky."

The so-called planetary trio appears a little over it, forming a triangle with the Red Planet to the right, and the two other planets to the left of the moon just a little. The whole arrangement needs to be visible to the naked eye if a skywatcher is in a location that has minimal weather and light pollution.

Triple Planet in 2040

A pair of binoculars might help one get a closer look, and of course, a telescope can enable one to see the individual planets in a bit more detail. The cloudiness of Venus, the Red Planet's redness, and majestic rings of Saturn are easier to make out with more forceful magnification, a similar Digital News Today report specified.

The cloudiness of Venus, the redness of Mars, and the majestic rings of Saturn are easier to make out with more powerful magnification. A good source of the exact details known as InTheSky, of when and where to look from a particular location.

With these planets that transit in and out of view all the time, Mars, Saturn, and Venus won't appear in the sky so close together until the year 2040, and thus, it is worth waking up early to be able to see more than half of the planets of the solar system simultaneously.

Planet Venus Approaching Farthest Distance from the Sun

This is not the first time Science Times has reported the triple planet. Last week, this site reported that if the weather and cloud conditions allowed, depending on their location, people could see the planet Venus with their naked eye.

As reported by The Sun, stargazers at this time would be able to witness the three planets lighting up the evening as Venus approached its farthest distance from the Sun. Moreover, in the same week, the planetary neighbor would be at its farthest distance from the sun, easily seeing it.

With a -4.4 magnitude, Venus will be somewhat easy to be viewed in the eastern sky. At its greatest elongation, this planet will be positioned 47 degrees west of the Sun, which will make it appear 50-percent lighted.

Venus Activity to Look Forward To

One of the dates to look forward to this year is October 23, when, according to InTheSky.org, Venus will be "at superior solar conjunction." During this event, Venus will pass very near the Sun in the sky as its orbit carries it around the solar system's far side from the Earth.

This takes place once in every synodic cycle of the planet and marks the end of the appearance of Venus in the morning sky and its transition to turn out to be an evening object for the next couple of weeks.

At the nearest approach, Venus will be visible at a separation of just "1°03' from the Sun," which makes it unobservable for a couple of weeks while it is lost in the glare of the Sun.

Venus will pass apogee, the time when it is farthest from the Earth, at roughly the same time, which will lie precisely opposite to this planet in the Solar System.

Related information about the planetary trio is shown on 7Even's YouTube video below:

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