IF THE sky is clear after sunset on Saturday, August 27, we'll have a rare chance to see an unusually close meeting of a pair of planets. On that evening Venus and Jupiter will be so close they'll probably look like a single 'star' in the sky. That sounds thrilling, but there are problems with seeing this rare and special Close Encounter of the Planetary Kind, which astronomers call a conjunction.

Firstly, the planets will be so low at sunset that any trees, buildings or hills on your western horizon will hide them from view. So you'll need to find a viewing site with a flat horizon to the west if you're to have any chance of seeing the conjunction. Secondly, the planets will be hard to see against the bright sunset sky, so you might struggle to see them with your naked eye. You'll probably need to scan the sky above the western horizon with a pair of binoculars if you're going to pick them up - but only do that AFTER the Sun has set, you absolutely must not do it until the blindingly-bright Sun has dropped safely out of sight.

So, seeing this conjunction will take a bit of work on your part, but it will be worth it to catch a glimpse of two worlds meeting in the golden twilight - closer than we've seen two meet up for a long, long time. Good luck!

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal