Mercury and Jupiter Will Appear To Join Over Hudson Valley Skies

This is definitely something that the astronomy buffs and stargazers in the Hudson Valley will appreciate, though you'll have to be up early Friday morning to see it. The smallest and largest planets in our solar system will appear right next to each other in an astronomical event known as a conjunction. Mercury and Jupiter will be appear like they're joining, which will mark the second time this year this has happened. And, as an added bonus, astronomers say you'll also be able to spot Saturn as well early Friday.

A triple conjunction between the planets had happened in January.

Where to look? WGRZ is reporting that you'll need to look to the southeastern sky at around 5:30 A.M. A telescope or pair of binoculars will definitely help you see this conjunction, though you'll also be able to spot the planets with your naked eye as well. Being far away from a lot of city light will also benefit greatly.

This is one of those rare chances to get a good look at the planet Mercury in the night sky, due to its very small size. But while the two planets will seem to appear close to each other in the sky, they're actually over 447,648,234 miles apart. They also couldn't be any more dynamically different, as Mercury is a small, heavily cratered world, with zero atmosphere and a scorching surface temperature of almost 800 degrees. Also, since it takes 59 Earth days for the tiny world to rotate, it's nighttime side plummets to over -300 degrees. Jupiter, on the other hand, is a massive world that spins on its axis every 10 Earth hours, and has a crushingly thick atmosphere full of ferocious storms.

So, the weather forecast for the Hudson Valley? Hudson Valley Weather is calling for partly cloudy skies, and lows in the 10s. You'll want to bundle up, as the wind will make it feel like it's down in the single digits tonight.