Quickshot: Skywatchers Delight! July 12-13 Venus and Mars Will Appear Extra Close To Each Other In Night Sky

Skywatchers are in for a treat next week! During the month of July, Earth’s closest neighbors - Venus and Mars - have been getting ever-closer together in the night sky. On the night of July 12^th, into the early hours of the 13^th, Venus and Mars will be at their closest. It’s called a planetary conjunction, and they’ll be easily visible in the same field of view despite being very far away from each other. Both Venus and Mars are targets for the next generation of space exploration, with new missions to study VENUS having recently been announced by NASA.

DAVINCI Principal Investigator, Jim Garvin, and Deputy Principal Investigator Giada Arney provide a look into this astronomical event and the upcoming missions to study one of our nearest planetary neighbors.

Suggested Questions:
What does it mean when there’s a conjunction in the night sky?
How can our viewers spot Venus and Mars?
Venus has been quite a topic lately, can you tell us about the new missions NASA is sending to study it?
Why do scientists want to study Venus?
Where can our viewers go to learn more?

Questions? Contact christina.b.mitchell@nasa.gov

Participating Scientists:

Jim Garvin / DAVINCI Principal Investigator

Giada Arney / DAVINCI Deputy Principal Investigator

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Contact michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov and christina.b.mitchell@nasa.gov for more information.

See the following sources:

• https://www.nasa.gov/venus
• https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-to-explore-divergent-fate-of-earth-s-mysterious-twin-with-goddard-s-davinci
• https://www.nasa.gov/solarsystem