Mars and Venus will be close together the evening of Saturday, February 21. A third planet, Uranus, is also bunched in close with the pair. This planet, the second most distant in the solar system, is not visible to the naked eye, but is an easy find using a backyard telescope, or a good pair of binoculars.
Skygazers who want to view this conjunction of planets should look low on the horizon toward the west southwest. Venus will be easily visible, shining as the brightest object in the night sky apart from the Moon. It is important to find a location with clear, low horizon toward the south and southwest, as the planets will be found low in the sky.
"If the weather is good on Saturday you may see the formation but they will be at their closest on Sunday. It will be very easy to see these fantastic objects so close together in the sky, and it is a wonderful opportunity to take picture or just enjoy the sight," Astronomer Brendan Owens from the Royal Greenwich Observatory said.
Mars can be easily identified due to its distinctive red color, and it will be the only object nearly this hue close to Venus.
Uranus can be found above and slightly to the left of the pair, about two-thirds higher in the sky than Venus and Mars.
The two brighter planets will be a delightful view to anyone with curiosity. No special equipment is needed to view either Venus or Mars, but even a small telescope is enough to bring out images of these worlds, sitting on opposite sides of the Earth's orbit.
The constellation of Cetus the Whale, will be seen just to the left of the two brighter planets, while Pegasus, with its distinctive square shape, will be just to the right. Pisces will be directly behind the planetary pairing. Astronomers are calling this conjunction of planets one of the most stunning for all of 2015.
However, some ancient myths and superstitions surround conjunctions like this, and have been said to portend great danger, or significant change.
Despite the fact Mars and Jupiter appear so close in the sky, the two worlds are actually separated by more than 81 million miles, about 87 percent of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Naturally, skies will need to be clear for Venus and Mars to be seen by astronomers on Earth. So amateur astronomers in the northeast are unlikely to see anything, as the area is experiencing yet another snowstorm.
