There’s an extraordinary conjunction in tomorrow’s early morning sky – a tight grouping of the Moon, the planet Venus, and the star Regulus. They’re quite low at first light, so you may need a clear horizon to spot them. Venus is the brilliant “morning star,” just a fraction of a degree from the Moon. Regulus is a bit farther from the Moon. It’s much fainter than Venus, but its proximity to the brighter bodies will make it pretty easy to pick out.

This beautiful meeting is possible because all three bodies lie near the ecliptic – the Sun’s path across the sky.

Regulus, which marks the heart of the lion, is “fixed” in position just half degree a from the ecliptic. It does move through the galaxy, but it’s so far away that it takes centuries to notice any change.

Venus’s orbit around the Sun is tilted by about three degrees – about one and a half times the width of your finger held at arm’s length. The planet crosses the ecliptic during each orbit, so it’s always close. On rare occasions, it can even cross in front of Regulus, blocking it from view. That last happened in 1959, and it’ll happen again on October 1st, 2044.

The Moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted by about five degrees. So, like Venus, the Moon moves back and forth across the ecliptic. Tomorrow, it’ll be just about one degree from that path – setting up a beautiful conjunction in the dawn sky.

Script by Damond Benningfield