2023/06 ― Venus and Mars came very close to each other in the moonless night sky. Being an inner planet, when visible at night, Venus is always at the horizon, never wandering too far from the hidden Sun. Through the telescope, Venus’ crescent shape glowed brightly, betraying the Sun by revealing its location. On the other hand, venturesome Mars wantonly exploited its free celestial range. Since Earth’s orbit is between Venus’ and Mars’ orbits, you might intuitively try to find these planets in opposite directions, but that is not how it works.