They’re just going through a phase.
The moon and Venus will visibly “snuggle,” as Space.com puts it, in the pre-dawn sky Tuesday morning.
The two celestial bodies will share the same right ascension — which astronomers call a conjunction, the site reports.
This special event is for early risers, as the spectacle will likely unfold around 3 a.m. for NYC viewers, per In The Sky.
The waning crescent moon will be up at 2:44 a.m., while Venus rises around 3:11 a.m.
The special arrangement — a precursor to a unique solar eclipse dubbed “the ring of fire,” blazing from Oregon to Texas on Saturday — won’t be visible with a telescope, but binoculars with a wider field of view should do, according to Space.
During this time, Venus will rise in conjunction with Regulus — the “heart of the lion” star and the brightest in the zodiacal constellation Leo, reports EarthSky.org.
The site notes that the moon will have just left its apogee, the point in its orbit where it is farthest from the Earth.
“As you gaze at the moon, Venus and Regulus in the October 10 morning sky, you’ll know the moon will be just over 252,000 miles (405,000 km) away, Venus will be a few light-minutes away, and Regulus will be 79 light-years away. Yay, outer space!” the outlet wrote.
The next opportunity to see Venus will come on Oct. 20, when it reaches its highest point in the sky as of late.
