Anybody who enjoys stargazing but doesn’t like to sacrifice sleep is in for a treat this month.
About an hour after sunset on January 22, Venus and Saturn will be in conjunction, which means they will appear very close to each other. Then, the next night, the moon will appear near the two planets at around the same time.
On the first night, “[the two planets will] appear only a third of a degree apart,” NASA said on its website. “That’s a third of the width of your index finger held at arm’s length.”
The next night, January 23, “Venus and Saturn will be just a degree apart in the sky — the width of your index finger held at arm’s length,” NASA continues. “The slim crescent moon will hang just above them.”
While Venus and Saturn will appear close to each other, they will still be millions of miles apart. Indeed, Venus will be 143 million miles from Earth and Saturn will be nearly 1 billion miles away from Earth, according to astronomy site When The Curves Line Up.
Venus
Venus, which is the second planet from the sun and is named after the Roman goddess of love, is the closest planet to Earth. What’s more, it’s referred to as “Earth’s twin” because the planets are not only similar in size and density, they also are two of the four rocky planets in our solar system. The other two rocky planets are Mercury and Mars.
Then again, there are also notable differences between Venus and Earth. Most significantly, Venus has a “thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide, and it’s perpetually shrouded in thick, yellowish clouds of sulfuric acid that trap heat, causing a runaway greenhouse effect,” NASA explains.
Given that atmosphere, it’s not surprising that Venus is also the hottest planet in our solar system, with surface temperatures of around 900 degrees. That temperature, NASA points out, is hot enough to melt lead.
Saturn
Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, doesn’t have a rocky surface like Earth and Venus because it, instead, is a gas giant made up mainly of hydrogen and helium.
It’s also the second-largest planet in our solar system. To put Saturn’s size in perspective, if nine Earths were placed side by side, they would almost span Saturn’s diameter — but only if Saturn’s rings aren’t included, NASA explains.
Those famous rings are made of chunks of ice and rock held in place by Saturn’s gravitational pull. And while Saturn isn’t the only planet with rings, it does have what NASA calls “the most spectacular ring system,” with seven rings with several gaps and divisions between them.
Saturn also has an astounding 82 moons. Of those moons, 53 are “known” moons, while another 29 moons haven’t received official confirmation of their discovery yet.
How To See The Planetary Show
Venus and Saturn are both so bright that they will be visible to the unaided eye. However, during conjunction, if you are using either binoculars or a telescope, the planets will appear so close together that they will fit inside a single field of view.
On January 22, the two bright planets will become visible around 5:25 p.m. EST, just above the southwestern horizon, according to astronomy site In-the-Sky. They will then sink toward the horizon and set at 6:54 p.m. EST
“You should have no problem spotting Saturn near Venus with the eye alone,” according to EarthSky. “Both are bright planets! But Venus is much, much brighter.”
The next night, January 23, Venus and Saturn will appear to have moved slightly away from each other at the same time after sunset, but the moon will have also moved into the same field of view.
You can use In-the-Sky’s The Sky On 22 January 2023 chart to see when Venus, Saturn, and other planets will rise and set in your local time.
Since you’re thinking about Venus and Saturn, be sure to also read our stargazing content, as well as:
