Conjunction between Jupiter and Mars
2018 Jan 7
Dominic Ford – originally published on In-The-Sky.org
Jupiter and Mars will make a close approach, passing within 0°12' of each other.
From London (click to change), the pair will be visible in the dawn sky. They will rise at 03:16 (BST), 4 hours and 48 minutes before the Sun, and attain an altitude of 22° above the southern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 07:37.
At the moment of closest approach, Jupiter will be at mag -1.9, and Mars at mag 1.1, both in the constellation Libra.
At closest approach, the pair will be close enough to fit comfortably within the field of view of a telescope, but will also be visible to the naked eye or a through pair of binoculars.
The precise positions of Jupiter and Mars at the moment of closest approach will be as follows:
| Object | Right Ascension | Declination | Constellation | Magnitude | Angular Size |
| Jupiter | 15h02m00s | -16°05' | Libra | -1.9 | 32"8 |
| Mars | 15h01m50s | -16°16' | Libra | 1.1 | 4"9 |
The coordinates above are given in J2000.0. The pair will be at an angular separation of 58° from the Sun, which is in Sagittarius at this time of year.
The details of this observing event were provided courtesy of In-The-Sky.org
.