The two closest planets to the Earth are about to appear closest to each other on Tuesday morning. Venus and Mars, which we’ve been watching for weeks, are about to be almost close enough to talk to each other.

On Tuesday morning the two planets will be just less than four degrees apart. This is a great time to get the best of the show.

Get up early before sunrise. You’ll need a fairly clear view of the eastern sky. Venus is the easiest to spot. Take a second look for the considerably fainter Mars.

While they appear close together, this is only an alignment. Mars is the farthest at 176 million miles away. Venus is only 56 million miles away. It is no surprise understanding why Mars is so much fainter. Mars is three times farther away than Venus.

Even if you miss the Tuesday morning event, try looking any morning. There won’t be much of a difference between what you see tomorrow morning or all of next week. The planets are moving at a slow rate of speed. The differences will appear if you look over the span of several mornings.