The Moon and Venus team up tonight

Tonight is the night to see Venus and the moon side-by-side! The two brightest objects in the night sky will put on a dazzling show for nearly four hours after sunset.

Venus is about as high in the evening sky as it ever gets. You have likely seen it. It can be mistaken for aircraft landing lights, a UFO, or many other things. But, it is just a close planet shrouded in clouds. The clouds reflect a lot of sunlight, resulting in its very bright appearance.

Check out this amazing view of the moon a few days ago right before sunrise, courtesy AccuWeather Astronomy Facebook friend Lunar 101-Moon Book.

March begins this weekend. And, the moon and planets will continue to be center stage. However, the action will shift to the early morning sky.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be as close together as they will  be over the next couple of decades! Jupiter and Saturn have been close to each other for the last couple of years, but Mars’ position in the sky changes more quickly as it orbits the sun much faster than the gas giants. As we see it on Earth, Mars will pass between Jupiter and Saturn over a 10-day stretch in late March. To kick off this event, the moon will join the three planets on March 18 and 19! Again, this will be seen in the predawn sky, best viewed around 5:30 a.m. (before twilight). We will have maps of this event soon.

Enjoy the beautiful views this week. Thanks for reading. Just look up; you never know what you will see.