Venus and Saturn Draw Closer to Conjunction

If you happen to live outside the Rocky Mountain west (where it has been raining for the past week) you may have noticed two bright lights in the evening sky right after sunset.

The brightest is the planet Venus, the dimmer is the planet Saturn.  Venus is brighter because it is much closer than Saturn, even though they have about the same reflectivity (albedo).  

As the next few nights progress the two planets will slowly appear to draw closer together until on the evening of the 18th when they are just a little over 2 degrees apart.   This close approach is known as a planetary conjunction.   After the 18th Venus will drift toward the South while Saturn continues a bit to the north. 

The morning sky has 2 planets and a host of bright stars, more on that tomorrow.

Until then, clear skies, especially for those in Colorado.

Venus and Saturn in the sunset sky on September 18. Created in Stellarium