CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Venus and Mars appear in the western sky tonight and will continue to be visible until about 11 p.m. EDT before setting below the horizon if there is no view-blocking terrain in your viewing area.
Although Jupiter is 318 times larger than Venus, Venus appears larger and brighter than Jupiter because it is much closer to the Earth than Jupiter.
The two planets are only three degrees apart. Both will appear close to each other in the western sky for the rest of the month of March 2012 just after sundown.
The peak of two planets’ closeness is in the middle of March 2012.
