Venus and Saturn will appear extraordinarily close together in the night sky overnight on Jan. 17 during a celestial event known as a conjunction.

On Jan. 4, Saturn briefly hid behind the crescent moon, escaping the view of skywatchers in Europe, Africa, western Russia and eastern Greenland in an event known as a lunar occultation. Astronomer Gianluca Masi shared a composite photo taken during the event using the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy.

Venus is the planet of love, beauty and pleasure — it governs everything from our finances and relationship dynamics to our values and desires. In Pisces, the love planet immerses itself in the ideal fantasy, encouraging us to dream big when it comes to our desires. This, however, could be our detriment if we lose sight of reality.

This beautiful image shows Saturn re-emerging from behind our moon after a lunar occultation on 4 January. These occur when the moon passes between Earth and another object in the night sky, blocking it from our view. To the right of Saturn, you might just be able to make out the star 85 Aquarius, which underwent occultation at the same time.

A new study implies that in the past, moons in our solar system may have had rings just like planets do — deepening the mystery of why no ringed moons exist today.

Qatar Calendar House shared on 15 January 2025 that four planets of the solar system can be seen and observed with the naked eye in Qatari skies during January 2025. This phenomenon is known as a "planet parade," when multiple planets appear to align in the night sky simultaneously.

Plus: Saturn’s moon Iapetus is visible, our Moon passes the bright star Spica, and Mars skims south of Pollux in Gemini in the sky this week.

To kick off the beginning of the weekend, catch Venus and Saturn meeting as a conjunction on the night of Jan. 17. A telescope is not required to view this astronomy event.

Jan. 21. A planet parade is when several of our solar system's planets are visible in the night sky at the same time. There will be six planets visible this time around, including Venus, Mars, Jupiter,

This month, six planets align in a rare celestial event, with Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars visible to the naked eye, according to NASA’s Preston Dyches. Venus and Saturn will appear closest on January 19-20, while Jupiter shines brightly in the south, and Mars glows reddish in the east.

Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will appear to line up and be bright enough to see with the naked eye in the first few hours after dark. This weekend, Venus and Saturn get especially cozy.