The Sky This Week, 2012 March 27 – April 3 — Naval Oceanography Portal

We’ll have to wait quite a while before we see as dazzling a gathering of planets in the western twilight sky as we have seen for the past few months. Now that Venus has left Jupiter in her wake the duo seem to go their separate ways, and their next close conjunction at such a prominent altitude in the evening sky won’t occur until the year 2036. However, early risers in the midsummer months will have a chance to enjoy the pair in close proximity in the morning sky for several weeks in late June and July before they ultimately part company. They will meet about once each year, either before dawn of after sunset, between now and 2036, but most of these encounters will occur in twilight within 15 degrees of the horizon. Favorable evening elongations of Venus, similar to the one she’s undergoing now, occur at eight year intervals, while Jupiter takes about 12 years to go once around the sky. Thus every third favorable elongation of Venus occurs when Jupiter has completed two orbits, and a dramatic conjunction occurs high in the post-twilight sky. Yes, the end of March 2036 should be quite spectacular, with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the Moon all visible in the western sky for your entertainment. Better mark those calendars now!

The Sky This Week, 2012 March 27 – April 3 — Naval Oceanography Portal