Venus and Saturn will be in conjunction this weekend, appearing side by side in the night sky during January's post-sunset "planet parade."

“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.”

To kick off the beginning of the weekend, catch Venus and Saturn meeting as a conjunction on the night of Jan. 17. A telescope is not required to view this astronomy event.

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

There are six planets in the night sky all week, four of them visible to the naked eye and two of them getting very close indeed. Here's how to watch.