Venus, Jupiter, moon offer dazzling night show

Feb 23, 2012 By MARCIA DUNN , AP Aerospace Writer

(AP) -- Stargazers of the world are getting a treat this weekend.

On Saturday and again Sunday, Venus, Jupiter and Earth's moon converge for a brilliant night show.

Venus and Jupiter already are lining up in the western sky. In mid-February, the two planets were 20 degrees apart from a viewing perspective. The gap narrows to 10 degrees by month's end.

A crescent moon joins the show this weekend for a triple combination. The celestial encounter will be visible from around the world at twilight. The moon will appear closer to Venus on Saturday and closer to Jupiter on Sunday.

The moon then retreats from view, but Venus and Jupiter keep drawing closer. The two planets will be just 3 degrees apart by mid-March.

Explore further: Cassini imaging lead hopes for planet-wide celebration of the Pale Blue Dot

More information: NASA: http://tinyurl.com/7b8vt6w

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User comments : 1

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Xbw

1.8 / 5 (5) Feb 23, 2012

Explaining to my wife who knows almost nothing about anything astronomy related that those bright lights in the sky were planets rather than stars was difficult.

"What do you mean? They are too small to be planets."

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