'Cosmic kiss': Venus and Jupiter appear close in night skies

WASHINGTON (WJLA) — Did you see it? Jupiter and Venus, the two brightest planets, appeared very close together in the night sky on Wednesday in what's known as a "conjunction," according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The celestial sighting is also sometimes referred to as a "cosmic kiss" and is visible to the naked eye.

Jupiter and Venus were 17 degrees above the western horizon as evening twilight ended at 6:58 p.m. on the East Coast, scientists said, and set together about an hour and a half later at 8:31 p.m.

At their closest, the planets appeared just half a degree apart, according to NASA. The conjunction will continue to be visible in the night sky on Thursday.

WJLA anchor Lindsey Mastis captured the conjunction with her telescope and shared the footage on her Instagram page.

After the moon, Jupiter and Venus are currently the brightest sights in the sky, astronomers said.

Here are the rest of the year's full moon events:

Full Moons:

• April 6: Pink moon
• May 5: Flower moon
• June 3: Strawberry moon
• July 3: Buck moon
• August 1: Sturgeon moon
• August 30: Blue moon
• September 29: Harvest moon
• October 28: Hunter’s moon
• November 27: Beaver moon
• December 26: Cold moon

There will also be two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses in 2023.

Meteor shower dates:

• Lyrids: April 22-23
• Eta Aquariids: May 5-6
• Southern delta Aquariids: July 30-31
• Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31
• Perseids: August 12-13
• Orionids: October 20-21
• Southern Taurids: November 4-5
• Northern Taurids: November 11-12
• Leonids: November 17-18
• Geminids: December 13-14
• Ursids: December 21-22