Jupiter is Racing

Rising in the east before dawn this morning, fast Jupiter was racing to catch bright Venus. Both are racing to catch the Moon. If you used the angle-measuring tool I gave you yesterday, a finger on your outstretched arm, you saw that the planets were separated by about 2 degrees. Two fingers.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the separation will be about half that, about one finger-width. On Friday, the closest approach, they will be around one-half of a degree apart. By Monday, Jupiter will have passed Venus by about 3 degrees and the two planets will have caught the Moon to form a cluster, all within a few degrees of one another. There is plenty of time to see these things before sunrise washes them out, so I encourage you to go outside and have a look!

For the Star of Bethlehem event, Jupiter and Venus came about 30 times closer than this Friday. And they did it in the early evening, when folks were awake. What we are seeing today is unusual, but in 2 BC the planets merged -- this occurs on the time scale of centuries.

If you have time, join me in prayer:

"Father, if we stood on Venus or any of your planets with a dense cloudy atmosphere, we could see none of this. But you left the top off Earth. You wanted us to see your Universe and marvel. We do, Lord. We are made small and full of wonder by your creation. Thank you! We come in the name of Jesus, amen!"

Rick