Lately, Jupiter and Saturn in the mid – nineties were like Tom Hanks. They really save the spotlight. (Although, they can not claim to be the father of America.) That will still be the case on the night of January 10th.
Just after sunset on Sunday, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury will have a rare triple conjunction that comes close to each other from our perspective. The trinity will form a small, clear triangle layer in the southwestern sky, with Jupiter sitting at the top of their planetary pyramid. The planets will actually be close to each other every night from January 8 to January 11, but the strictest group will happen January 10, for EarthSky. However, you need to look immediately because they will not stay above the horizon for long.
You will be able to see the trio during a short window that starts about 30 minutes after sunset, which feels like it’s coming too early, even though the days have gotten longer since the wonderful togetherness of the winter break in December. Jupiter will be the brightest of the three and the first to appear as the sun’s rule over the sky fades. According to Live Science, it will shine about two and a half times brighter than Mercury and 10 times brighter than Saturn.
You want to see the event somewhere with a clear view along the south-south horizon, because it is going to take place very low in the sky. If there are trees or buildings along your horizon, you may not see the planets. In addition, Joe Rao at Space.com suggests using binoculars to track down the planets, as the sun’s brightness will make it harder to see than when it occurred during the night. (Mercury is only visible near sunrise or sunset because of its position between the earth and the sun.)
If you bring binoculars, be careful to look at the sun while it is still up. You should not view the sun with binoculars unless you are using a sunscreen. It can cause damage to your eyes.
Of course, our planets seem to be close to each other. They are very, very far apart in reality. The gas giants have orbits that sometimes bring them closer together relative to other planets, but Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, never comes close to Jupiter and Saturn.
Moreover, this triple conjunction is one of the last opportunities to see Jupiter and Saturn for a short while. The planets drift in the direction of being completely obscured by the sunset. Jupiter will remain visible until the middle of the month, according to Space.com. This is a good chance to have one last hurray with those wild gas giants.