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AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
If you looked at the sky last night and thought to yourself, wow - those two stars are really bright and really big - congratulations. You probably caught an early glimpse of the planets Venus and Jupiter in their closest alignment for years. Venus and Jupiter are sharing what's being called a cosmic kiss. Though they are actually hundreds of millions of miles apart, the planets will appear so close in the night sky that if you stretch out your hand, your pinky might just barely fit between them. This is called a conjunction, and it's the best conjunction for Jupiter and Venus that the Northern Hemisphere will see until 2028.
If you want to catch this cosmic kiss, look to the west about 45 minutes after sunset. How long the kiss is visible will depend on exactly where you are on Earth. If you're somewhere without much light pollution from cities, you might be able to catch it up to two hours after the sun goes down. Venus and Jupiter will be closest to Earth and most visible to us tomorrow and Tuesday, but you can still catch these planetary lovebirds until June 11.
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