Jupiter and Venus in Incredible Conjunction

       Something extraordinary is happening right now in the evening sky after sunset that in another millennium would have the world turned upside down.

       It is somewhat amazing to me that there isn’t some minor hysteria and wild predictions as what might happen during the next two weeks of celestial “magic.”

       Because what’s going on in the stars after sunset is something that demanded attention thousands of years ago, and now it is being completely ignored except for the brethren of amateur astronomers poised to capture the event with their cameras.

       Just what am I talking about?

       Something no less than what might be the return appearance of the famous Star of Bethlehem…and I’m not kidding!

       On the night of Wednesday, June 30, 2015, the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will seem to merge as one star to the naked eye—exactly what happened on the night of June 17, 2 BC.

Jupiter, top, and Venus
photo by MarQ

       This “super” conjunction of the two planets that have been characterized as the King and Queen of many ancient mythologies has been one solid explanation for the most famous star of all, the Star of Bethlehem.  In our only source, the Bible Book of Mathew says guided “Wise Men” from the Far East to the manger in Bethlehem where the Christian Messiah was born. 

       Both the conjunction 2015 and 2 BC occurred in the regal constellation Leo the Lion, near the bright yellow star Regulus, known as the “Regal One.”

This might be the event that triggered a clan of wise skywatchers from Persia to saddle up the caravan and travel the 600 miles to a town called Bethlehem and an infant named Jesus.

       This beautiful night sky event has been playing out in our pre-Summer nights, just like they did 2,017 years ago. To the ancient cultures these god-like planets chased each other in the Zodiac house of stars that was considered the place for laws and royalty.

Venus below Pollux and Castor
Photo by MarQ

       Yes, amateur astronomers have been watching for six months the convergence of Venus towards Jupiter, with the bright yellow star Regulas nearby. Called a “conjunction” in astronomy talk, the meaning is when two celestial bodies are in the same proximity of the sky, usually within 5 degrees of each other. Five degrees is the distance an arm-length human fist covers in the sky, of the distance between the pointer stars of the Big Dipper.   

While Jupiter and Venus are near each other about every eight years, it is a rare event centuries apart that will have both planets visible in the same low power eyepiece of a telescope for a few hours.

The separation will be less than the width of the Moon, which is one-half degree—or the width of your outstretched pinky finger. During the conjunction of 2 BC, the planets were even closer, Venus nearly covering up Jupiter.  

       Though close in the sky, it is a line-of-sight perspective as the planets are actually more than 500 million miles apart.  Venus is close to the Earth at about 20 million miles away while Jupiter is on the other side of the Sun 600 million miles away and a month away from going behind our star and popping back up in the morning sky. 

       It was just a little more than 2,000 years ago that ancient star watchers also observed with fascination as the brilliant white Venus kept moving upward to the gold Jupiter under the scrutiny of nearby Regulus.  The significance was even more impressive to the ancient stargazers as the quick moving Mercury moved in and out of the scene during the two months of celestial cat-and-mouse in 

the Spring of 2 BC. 

       In the 21^st Century we know that Jupiter is coincidentally the largest of the eight planets and named after the King of the Gods in Roman mythology.  And Venus is shrouded in clouds, giving it a pearly white and bright appearance that the ancients associated with virginity and birth.  Leo the Lion was one of 12 constellations where the planets, Moon and Sun are always found, and each was thought as a celestial house of influence on the lives of man. Leo was an authority figure and lawgiver in the ancient minds of astrology.

       This month’s spectacular conjunction of the two brightest planets is silently ignored by the astrologers of our millennium.  But 2,000 years ago there would be a buzz in the civilized lands about the King of the Gods being visited by the Queen of Fertility, and the news about it being reported by swift, mythical messenger Mercury.

       In fact, this dance of the special wandering stars among the royal house of the favored constellations had to be watched even more intently by the ancient Zoastrian priests of the ancient world.  For centuries they had been looking for signs in the sky that a Messiah of the Hebrews would be born, as predicted in ancient teachings from prophets like Abraham and Moses.

       And when the King and Queen of the night stars merged into one star for a few brief hours on June 17, 2 BC, skywatchers interpreted it as a sign from their God, and thus the famous story of the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew unfolded.

       But the reaction in the 21^st Century is quite blasé.  There are no religious outcries that I can find anywhere on the Internet.  No wacko groups are professing that the end of the world is near.  I can’t find any predictions of the return of Jesus.  Nor any apocalyptic predictions of famine, drought or pestilence. 

       Gee, anybody remember Y2K fears of a computer melt-down? Or how about in 1997 Heaven’s Gate? There were 39 members of the cult who committed suicide in matching outfits and Nike shoes. They believed they were catching a ride to eternity aboard spaceship following Comet Hale-Bopp!

       Really? A re-creation of what could have been the most famous star in history—THE Star of Bethlehem and nobody wants a piece of it?  I can’t find a decent tabloid on the newsstands, any mention in the UFO magazine rack or any special discounts at the corner Palm Reader’s shack. 

       This beautiful conjunction of Venus and Jupiter is only talked about in the usual monthly publications of Astronomy and Sky & Telescope, as well as the 2015 almanacs and calendars of celestial events.

       Venus has been jumping up from the horizon to met Jupiter before it begins dropping back down to swing into the morning sky by the early Autumn.  Jupiter slips behind the Sun in August. In the September 2015, the planetary pair will dazzle the pre-dawn skies into morning twilight.

       Any doubters about the similarity of these conjunctions 2,017 years apart? You can check it out for yourself by downloading the popular desktop planetarium program, Stellarium.org.  It is free and takes about five minutes to install on your computer.   

       What will be amazing about this event should be the photos taken of both planets in the same field of view.  Venus will have a gibbous phase and be a little bigger than Jupiter with its squashed poles with several wide, dark bands of clouds cutting across the globe.  Jupiter will have three moons on one side and one on the other of its easily visible four moons discovered by Galileo.

       To prepare for any photos, or just to enjoy the peak of the conjunction on the night of June 30^th, pay attention to where the planets are as they set over the upcoming nights. 

       You’ll have a ring-side seat to see celestial mechanics as played out by the laws of physics. 

It might not be a time for the return of any Messiah, but you can certainly enjoy the spirituality of the event with a knowledge that surpasses anybody living two millennia ago. 

       I’ll be watching, of course.  And just in case I can hitch a ride somewhere that night, I’ll be wearing my sneakers.