The bright planets Mars and Jupiter can be seen in the early morning sky this weekend, with the planets close to each other on Monday.
Mars and Jupiter will be visible in the eastern-southeastern sky about 45 minutes before dawn, according to NASA. You can see them on Monday and Tuesday. The planets will be visible near each other.
"These close approaches never fail to impress during observations, particularly when the gas giants are involved", said MITzi Adams, an astronomer and researcher at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
How to see the planets in the night sky.
Jupiter will be the brighter of the two, with a magnitude of -2.2. The full moon is at a magnitude -12.6 and the stars are magnitude 6. Calculating an object's brightness in the sky is done on the scale of magnitude.
The two planets are very close to each other because they travel on the plane of the solar system. The moon, sun, and major planets appear to pass across the same path in the sky, and sometimes produce eclipses when one world passes across another.
Both planets are millions of miles away from us. Jupiter is four times further from Earth than Mars. The Earth-sun distance is more than 100 million miles.
Is it possible to see Venus and the moon?
Let us know if you take a picture of Mars and Jupiter. You can send comments and images to spacephotos@space.com.
As summer approaches, you should be able to see as many as five naked-eye planets in the predawn sky, all at the same time. Strong telescopes may show Neptune and Uranus.
If you want to see planets in the night sky with a telescope or binoculars, check out our guide for the best deals. If you need equipment, consider our best cameras for Astrophotography and best lens for Astrophotography.
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