TRI-CITIES, Wash. – Law enforcement across the Tri-Cities area took to their dispatch systems in haste around 7 p.m. March 1, asking if everyone else could see the same lights in the sky. Officers chimed in with their perspectives on the apparent unknown flying object, only to discover an astronomical optical illusion was the cause.
Officers first made remarks about an object floating above the Blue Bridge. It was described as a stationary object with two lights that seemed to be hovering above the area. Possible explanations were considered, like helicopters, drones and other aircraft. Some even joked about the possibility of an alien invasion, before the truth was discovered.
On March 1, Venus and Jupiter have situated in perfect placement, seeming much closer to Earth – and to each other – than they actually are. The planets had been moving into this placement throughout February, growing closer together. The planets are already the brightest from Earth year-round, but now they’re at the closest point to our sky’s dome, according to EarthSky, which is why they look so big.
The conjunction of these two planets is predicted to be around 3 a.m. March 2, when Venus will reportedly pass .5 degrees from Jupiter. After this, the planets will drift in opposite directions again, breaking the optical illusion that makes the planets seem like UFOs. SPACE.com reports that the planets won’t seem this close again until February 2032.
When conjunction like this occurs, planets will appear to be right next to each other. Some distance references included a pencil eraser and a pinky finger– but the planets are actually 400 million miles apart. They’re further from each other than the Earth is from the sun, according to American Museum of Natural History astronomer Jackie Faherty. The “illusion” comes from how far the planets are from Earth and their varying trajectories around the sun.
