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Conjunction. A conjunction
is a celestial event in which two

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astronomical objects appear
close together in the sky.

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This could be two planets, a planet
and the Moon, or a planet and a star.

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One example of a conjunction
was in November 2023,

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when Mars passed behind the Sun,
as seen from Earth, for three weeks.

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We had to pause spending commands
to our spacecraft at Mars.

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We also saw a conjunction in April 2022,

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when Mars and Saturn
switched positions in our morning sky.

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But it's not just Earth's perspective.

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In December 2016, the Cassini spacecraft
at Saturn witnessed a conjunction as well.

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The Earth, Sun, and Saturn lined up.

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Conjunctions don't have a lot
of astronomical significance,

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but they are nice to view.

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They occur frequently in our solar system
because the planets orbit the Sun

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in approximately the same plane,
taking similar paths across the sky.