Published 18:46 IST, May 12th 2020
May 16, 2020 will align Moon and Venus as a smiley face and netizens can't keep calm
May 16 2020, will reportedly bring about a rare astronomical occurrence where the moon, Venus and Jupiter will align together and form a smiley face.
The month of May has been a treat for people who are enthusiastic about witnessing astronomical events. Just this month, Comet Atlas and Swana along with the asteroid Eta Aquariid lit up the sky with some picturesque hues and brightness. Now, it is revealed that on May 16, 2020, another astronomical occurrence will baffle the world.
Moon, Jupiter and Venus smiley face
A rare astronomical event named conjunction will reportedly take place on May 16, 2020. Moon, Jupiter and Venus will be aligned together to form a smiley face in the sky. The last time conjunction occurred was almost 12 years back in 2008. It also reportedly happened in the Philippines back in 2007 when the skies lit up at night.
'This conjunction between the moon, Jupiter and Venus is a result of the moon's orbit around the Earth and the planet Earth's orbit around the sun which makes it look like an alignment from the third person perspective even though the celestial bodies are millions of kilometres away from one another.
Though interestingly, based on the place people are witnessing the phenomena from, they will either witness a sad face or a smiley face. People living in the northern hemisphere will experience this astronomical occurrence as a smiley face, whereas people in the southern hemisphere will view it upside down, making it look like a sad face.
Image courtesy - Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash
The moon, Venus and Jupiter are some of the brightest celestial bodies known so they're emitting light will make it easier to spot from the naked eye. As per reports, this phenomenon will be visible in the sky only during the evening time, that too for a very limited amount of time after the sunset. The smiley face moon conjunction will be taking place in North America on May 16, 2020.
Updated 18:47 IST, May 12th 2020