Venus and Jupiter in illusion of near-collision

The two brightest planets in the sky, Venus and Jupiter, appeared to almost collide yesterday as their positions in orbit aligned.

Early yesterday morning offered the a chance to catch a glimpse of the planets, appearing as two bright spots hovering next to each other. Known by astronomers as a “conjunction”, the alignment happens every year.

But this year, the planets seemed to almost touch in what Nasa called an “ultra-close conjunction”. It is not expected to reoccur to the same degree until 2039. The best chance to see the spectacle is by looking east before sunrise this weekend.