More Venus and Jupiter

If you look toward the west the next couple of evenings and feel like you’re having double vision – well, you are. But it’s nothing to worry about. It’s a conjunction between the two brightest points of light in the night sky – the planets Venus and Jupiter. They’re separated by less than two degrees – the width of your finger held at arm’s length. Venus is the brighter point – the brilliant “evening star.” Jupiter is only about one-seventh as bright, but it still outshines all the other planets and stars. Jupiter is the largest and heaviest planet in the solar system. It’s a ball of gas with a dense, oozy center. Its atmosphere is topped by bands of clouds painted tan, yellow, red, and ivory. The clouds reflect most of the sunlight that strikes them, making the planet bright. Venus is only the sixth-largest and -heaviest planet – right behind Earth. It’s also covered by clouds. But they don’t form colorful stripes. To the eye alone, in fact, they look featureless – a smooth blanket of white. But they’re more reflective than Jupiter’s clouds. Venus is also much closer to both Earth and the Sun than Jupiter is. That combination makes it the brightest pinpoint in the night sky. Venus and Jupiter will be closest together tonight and tomorrow night. Then Venus will pull away, increasing the gap by about one degree per night – slowly ending the “double vision” in the evening sky. Script by Damond Benningfield