Watch the conjunction of Venus and Saturn in the free webcast on January 22

During the evening of Sunday (Jan. 22), the solar system planets Saturn and Venus will meet in the night sky and make a close approach. Fortunately, skywatchers who don’t want to brave January’s bitter cold can watch the encounter from the comfort of their homes.

The Virtual Telescope Project will stream the close approach and setup, known as a “conjunction,” between Venusthe second planet from the sun, and Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system. The live stream will begin while the two planets are less than half a degree apart, which is less than the angular size of the full moon and equal to half the width of an arm’s length finger.