By Dominic Abassi

Celestial dance: Mars, Venus, moon to create ‘special treat’ Tuesday night

Jan 31, 2017 | 1:47 PM

NANAIMO — You’ll need little more than the naked eye or a pair of binoculars to take in a “virtual dance in the sky” Tuesday night.

Vancouver Island University astronomy professor Dr. Greg Arkos said an event known as a conjunction (when two or more planets come together within a tight distance in the sky) will see Mars, Venus and the moon put on a show. He said while it’s not uncommon to see planets come close together as they move on their orbits, the inclusion of the moon will put three “really showy objects” on display.

“Venus is hugely bright, Mars is a very obvious object and the moon of course is very pretty, especially when it’s in a crescent phase like this,” said Arkos. “Getting that kind of combination is a little bit more rare.”

Arkos said Mars and Venus are actually moving away from each other, dancing apart over time. He said a very new crescent moon will join them and create a triangle that can be taken in for a “special treat.”

“They’re going to be close enough together that a pair of binoculars should fit all three of them nicely into the field of view and you’ll get a nice image of them, or if you’re a photographer you can get a picture of them.”

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A clear view of the horizon in the direction of the setting sun will provide the best angle, according to Arkos. He said the most opportune time Tuesday night is when the sky is changing from blue to a deeper blue, heading towards being black.

“The moon is going to move, so even if you go and do this tomorrow night…it’s going to have shifted onwards, leaving Venus and Mars behind,” he said.

Arkos said it’s rare that three celestial objects like this would be close enough together to view in one binocular field, so he recommends taking that approach.

dominic.abassi@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @domabassi