Glance Up

For the past couple of nights, the sky has put on a spectacular show. Venus, Jupiter, and the slender crescent moon have converged in a rare conjunction to form a tight triangle or “smiley” face.

The moon is the brightest object, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And Jupiter, the largest, is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren’t so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

Some historians think that a similar conjunction between Jupiter and Venus in 2 B.C. may be the source of the “star of Bethlehem” story related in the Bible. The stellar pair would have appeared so close together, scholars think, that they might have seemed to meld into one brilliant beacon of light.

It’s a beautiful sight, and you don’t even need a set of binoculars or a telescope to appreciate it. The two planets will remain together tomorrow night, but the moon will begin to move away. If you haven’t witnessed the conjunction yet, glance up on Tuesday night and enjoy.