TORONTO – Have you noticed two particularly bright “stars” in the western sky after sunset? They aren’t stars, but two planets, and they’re getting ready for a close encounter on Tuesday.
Jupiter and Venus have been doing their celestial dance for the past few months, with Jupiter appearing to set in the west. On Tuesday, the pair will be the closest they’ve been all year, called a conjunction.
GALLERY: Inching closer and closer
Venus is the brightest object in our night sky, followed by Jupiter, so it’s not too hard to find them. Venus is the lowest of the pair in the west (the bright star to the left of Jupiter is Regulus, in the constellation Leo).
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Over the past few weeks, the planets have been moving closer together for a beautiful pairing. By June 30, the planets will be less than a quarter of a degree apart (one degree is the width of your pinkie held at arms’ length).
The planets move throughout our sky due to our movement and theirs as we travel around the sun.
If you have a pair of binoculars, you can try taking a closer look at the two jewels of the night sky over the next week as they get closer to each other.
So be sure to catch the two planets at their closest: it won’t happen again until Aug. 27, 2016.
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