Worlds Are Colliding!

Run for your lives! Or just look up and watch.
Starting tonight, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn will appear so close together from Earth that they will look like a new constellation or perhaps a sign of the apocalypse. The rare grouping can be viewed through Sunday night, then Monday night Mercury and Venus will be separated by such a small distance they may look like one large new star. One large new start of death! Actually this isn't terribly rare - it happens every 5 - 10 years, so no Armageddon. Yet.

The best time to view the galactic mayhem is 30 to 45 minutes after sunset (about 8:30 p.m. EDT). Look for the planets in the western sky. More details for the geeks.