You won't even need a telescope to see this interesting phenomenon happening in space as the planets Venus and Jupiter are slowly heading toward each other in our night sky.

Astronomers call it the Venue-Jupiter Conunjction, the point at which the two planets appear right next to each other as the sun sets in the west. It's not a rare phenomenon because it happens about once a year, but this year's conjunction is one of the brightest you'll see between now and 2040.

If you can find a clear view of the western sky anywhere in New England, or the Northern Hemisphere, you'll get the best view of the two planets slowly moving closer to each other.

I saw them both earlier this week at sunset, and they each showed brightly in the sky before any of the stars were visible. I grabbed this picture in my backyard but Venus was blocked by a tree. However, you couldn't miss Jupiter.

Jeff Parsons - Townsquare Media
Jeff Parsons - Townsquare Media
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The photo doesn't do it justice, but as a space geek, this was fascinating to me.

If you need help finding the two planets, there's a great app on Android devices called SkyView. With it, you can point your camera to the night sky and it will tell you everything you see and things that you can't see.

SkyView via Jeff Parsons
SkyView via Jeff Parsons
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It really is an awe-inspiring thing to see that just makes you wonder what it would be like to travel to other planets in the solar system to see them up close.

Keep watching as the two planets get closer and closer each night. On March 1st they will be at their closest in the sky and viewable together through a pair of binoculars.

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