Between January 20 and 21, a rare Super Blood Wolf Moon will cross the night sky, turning the celestial object red in the process. This total lunar eclipse is a special event for astronomers but is closely followed by another celestial phenomenon. On January 22, Jupiter and Venus will appear close together in the sky in what is known as a conjunction.
Nasa explains: “A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky.”
Jupiter and Venus appearing close together occurs fairly regularly, the last instance being November 13, 2017.
NASA said of the astronomical event: “The Jupiter and Venus conjunction will be easily bright enough to see from any location, even large cities.”
Despite their apparent near proximity – the planets are actually more than 400 million miles apart from one another.
The planets will be visible in the sky before dawn – but whether you have a clear view will depend on your location.
In the UK the planets will be hard to spot as they will appear no higher than between 11 degrees to 14 degrees above the horizon.
For those wanting to spot the planets – no equipment is needed to view them, they can be seen using the naked eye.
However, should you wish to see close details such as the four largest moons of Jupiter, a telescope or pair of binoculars will be needed.
These moons, known as the Galilean moons, will look like small stars surrounding Jupiter.
After the sighting on January 22, Jupiter and Venus will slowly drift farther apart in the night sky.
However, before dawn on January 31, early risers will be treated with another close encounter.
At this time the crescent moon will appear incredibly close to Venus in the southeastern sky.
Venus and the moon will appear so close to each other that they will easily fit in the same field of view for those peering through the lens of a telescope or binoculars.
The Super Blood Wolf Moon will take place across January 20 and 21, and is visible from Europe, Africa, North America and South America.
The Moon will turn red as light refraction blocks blue light waves from reaching it.
For those wanting to watch the Super Blood Wolf Moon, timeanddate.com is broadcasting a live stream of the entire event.
The full duration of the eclipse is a long five hours and 12 minutes.