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.

I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere).

“Saturday evening, January 18: Venus and Saturn will appear nearest to each other. As evening twilight ends at 6:15 p.m. EST, Venus will be 30 degrees above the southwestern horizon with Saturn 2.2 degrees to the lower left. Saturn will set first on the western horizon almost 3 hours later at 9:04 p.m.”