(WRIC/WKRN) — The two brightest planets will get close for a glorious conjunction in our night sky on Tuesday evening, June 30.
About an hour after sunset (tonight’s sun sets at 8:35 p.m. in Richmond), head outdoors and look west on the horizon to see a bright object in the night sky as Jupiter and Venus will come within 1/3 degree of each other.
Some have called the conjunction “The Star of Bethlehem” because Jupiter and Venus did something similar near the star Regulus in 32 B.C., according to 8News sister station WKRN.
During this conjunction, Jupiter and Venus came within 1/100 of a degree of each other, making them indistinguishable to the naked eye. Many astronomers have speculated that the ancient celestial event is the one recorded in the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew.
There is a slight chance for storms this afternoon and evening between 3 and 9 p.m. Skies will become partly cloudy after 10 p.m. to provide a nice view of the two planets.
Click here to check out the rest of your StormTracker forecast.
If you get a good look of tonight’s celestial event, snap a pic and send it to 8News at iReport8@wric.com.
Happy sky-gazing!
