Astronomers are set for a light show from Jupiter and Venus

By: John Lester
Staff Writer
Published: Nov 26, 2008

Planets Jupiter and Venus will begin to light up the sky on Thanksgiving night. The two planets will move closer to one another this week. They will be the brightest objects in the sky.

Astronomers say no telescope or binoculars are needed for the upcoming light show. It's when Jupiter and Venus will begin to move closer to one another on Thanksgiving night. The two planets will appear only 2 degrees apart on Sunday and Monday.

While looking up at the sky, the two planets will be the width of a finger held out at arm's length. Both Jupiter and Venus will be joined by a crescent moon on Monday night.

"It'll be a head-turner," Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine, said in a statement. "This certainly is an unusual coincidence for the crescent moon to be right there in the days when they are going to be closest together," he added.

Astronomers say to look in the southwestern sky around twilight. The crescent moon will be the brightest object. The moon is about 252,000 miles away. Venus will be the second brightest at 94 million miles away. Jupiter is 540 million miles away.

The event happens nearly every generation. The same event won't take place again until November 2052.