A couple of prominent astronomical bodies are meeting up in the early evening sky. One of them is pretty easy to spot, but the other will take a bit more work.

The easy one is Venus – the “evening star.” It’s the brightest body in the night sky other than the Moon. When it’s low in the sky, as it is now, it can easily be mistaken for the landing lights of an approaching airplane. And people sometimes report it as a UFO.

But there’s nothing unidentified about it. Venus is the second planet from the Sun. Since Earth is the third planet, our viewing angle on Venus is limited. At most, Venus can appear for a few hours after sunset or before sunrise. And right now, it’s not even around for that long – it drops from sight as the sky gets good and dark. Over the coming weeks, though, it’ll climb higher into the sky, and stay in view longer, as we head into winter.

Its fainter companion is the true star Antares – the heart of the scorpion. It’s one of the bigger, heavier stars in the galaxy – a supergiant.

Antares is among the brightest stars in the night sky. But it’s so low in the twilight now that finding it is a little tricky. Venus will point the way – and binoculars will enhance the view. Tonight, Antares is to the left of Venus. Over the next few nights, Venus will climb up and over Antares. They’ll stand closest on Thursday and Friday, before Venus pulls away – and Antares disappears in the sunset.

Script by Damond Benningfield