Venus to meet Neptune in the sky on January 13

We have no rovers taking pictures of Venus like we do on Mars, although NASA is currently designing one. Until we have a lander sending us close-up images of the planet, though, we have to content ourselves with seeing Venus as a glowing dot in the sky from here on Earth. Tomorrow, January 13, may be one of the best times to look up and find our planet's nearest neighbor, and slated to appear right next to it is the elusive Neptune. 

While the real distance between them is vast, you can see the two planets right next to each other — but only if you have a telescope (or at least a pair of binoculars) since Neptune isn't visible to the naked eye. As the the second brightest natural object we can see in the night sky, Venus will be a showstopper with or without a telescope, and will shine 100,000 times brighter than Neptune. In fact, Venus will continue to grow brighter and even more conspicuous until it reaches its maximum brilliancy on April 30. 

In order to easily spot the duo, use software or apps like Star Walk, Star Chart, and Google Sky Map to locate them. Wondering what the best time to go planet hunting is? The optimal time to look up is when the sky has just gone complete dark, which is what you call the end of astronomical twilight. To know its exact hour for your location, use the United States Naval Observatory's sun or moon rise/set computation tool.

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