June 23-July 2, 2026: Mars passes the Pleiades star cluster during morning twilight. Watch the Red Planet pass the Seven Sisters before the next easily visible Mars-Pleiades conjunction in 2034.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus as an Evening Star
Mars Passes the Pleiades
Mars passes the Pleiades star cluster in the east-northeast during morning twilight. This is the last visible Mars-Pleiades conjunction until 2034.
Step outside with a binocular an hour before daybreak. Mars is over 10° above the east-northeast horizon. The Red Planet is not as bright as might be expected because it is still distant from Earth, and at this low altitude – height above the horizon – a binocular’s optical assist is needed. Mars and the star cluster are in the same field of view. By locating one, the other is easily found.
Each morning the cluster and planet are slightly higher in the sky. By the end of this sequence, the Pleiades are nearly 20° above the horizon.
The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, is likely the most famous star cluster in the sky. The brightest stars resemble a miniature dipper. In celestial artwork they ride on Taurus’ back. Dozens of stars are visible through a binocular or spotting scope because the stellar bundle is too wide to fit into a telescope field at higher magnifications. It covers an area of the sky nearly twice the moon’s apparent diameter.
For the purposes of these articles, conjunctions are marked when a planet passes the brightest Pleiad, Alcyone. This occurs on June 29, when Mars passes 4.4° from the star.
Future Conjunctions
The next three conjunctions occur when Mars and the star cluster are too close to the sun. Here are some notes about these events:
• June 8, 2028: This conjunction occurs before sunrise in the eastern sky when Mars is 17° from the sun and washed by morning twilight.
• May 21, 2030: This conjunction occurs four days before Mars is at conjunction with the sun.
• April 29, 2032: Conjunctions begin to occur in the evening sky. This one occurs when Mars is 20° east of the sun and, like the 2028 Mars-Alcyone conjunction, is washed out by twilight.
• April 8, 2034: A pretty evening conjunction. One hour after sunset, Mars is 26° above the western horizon and 3.8° to the lower left of Alcyone. Venus is 18° to Mars’ lower right. Twelve nights later, Venus, the crescent moon, Mars, and the Pleiades fit into a circle 11.6° in diameter. Venus passes the cluster on April 23 and overtakes Mars on May 11 nearly between Taurus’ horns.
Through a binocular, watch Mars approach, pass, and move away from the Pleiades star cluster during the next several mornings.
Otherwise, you will have to wait until 2034 to see a visible Mars-Pleiades conjunction during active spring evenings with Venus and Mars.
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