Planets Venus and Jupiter Own the Night (Infographic)

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Due to the changing geometery of planetary orbits, the bright planets Venus and Jupiter will move closer together over several months.
Due to the changing geometery of planetary orbits, the bright planets Venus and Jupiter will move closer together over several months. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

Over the next couple of months, the planets Venus and Jupiter will shine brightly in the evening sky, with only the moon appearing more luminous. Venus and Jupiter will continue to move closer and closer to one another until March.

These bright planets should be relatively easy to find, and since they are so bright, you should be able to spot them with your naked eyes.

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December 2011 Skywatching Events

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Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.