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Did you notice two bright lights in the sky Wednesday night?

The Moon is seen with Jupiter and Venus on March 1, 2023. (Source: @themoonlovepic/Twitter) The Moon is seen with Jupiter and Venus on March 1, 2023. (Source: @themoonlovepic/Twitter)
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Did you notice two bright lights in the sky Wednesday night?

It was Jupiter and Venus — Just after sunset, the two planets appeared in the evening sky at their closest approach point.

Venus appeared as a bright pinpoint of white light, while Jupiter was slightly duller.

At their closest, the planets seemed to be about a moon's width apart before drifting away again.

With Earth and Mars orbiting the sun between them, Venus and Jupiter of course are not actually close together in space.

"They're actually over 750 million kilometres apart," said Paul Delaney, an emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at York University. "But from our perspective, as we on Earth look past where Venus is into the outer solar system, it's that apparent alignment that we're looking at between," he told CTVNews.ca.

With a pair of binoculars, you may have been able to spot some of Jupiter's larger moons.

— With files from CTVNews.ca writer Daniel Otis

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