What two bright lights do I see in the western sky? (Feb. 1999)

Hello,

The brighter light is the planet Venus, and the fainter light is the planet
Jupiter. Last week, these two planets appeared nearer to each other in the
sky than they have in centuries! They were just 0.1 degrees apart (or 1/5
the angular size of the moon) on Feb. 23rd, and as you noticed, they have
been drifting further apart ever since.

Please note that the planets were not physically very close together at any
time, they just happened to lie in (very nearly) the same direction.

In the coming weeks, Venus will continue to appear higher and higher in the
western evening sky, until it gets about 45 degrees above the horizon. It
will then turn around, and get lower and lower until it can't be seen
anymore. Eventually, in several months, you'll be able to see Venus again
in the pre-dawn Eastern sky. Several months after that, it will again
return to dazzle us in the western sky at sunset.

Thanks for the question, and I hope you keep watching the night sky!

cheers,

--
Jason Harris
Grad Student
UCO/Lick Observatory

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