When I was in high school I used to go to dances. Not to dance, mind you - I was awful. I would just hang out with my friends in the bleachers and be entertained by the dancers on the gym floor.

I do the same now, only the dancing bodies I observe are in the skies. You can join me in the bleachers in the next several weeks as I watch two heavenly dancers, Jupiter and Venus trip the light fantastic.

In the southwest skies after sunset you will notice two extra bright "stars." The brightest by far is Venus, the dimmer is Jupiter. They are both on a similar course around the sun as we. Only Venus is on an inside fast track, and Jupiter is way out in a slowpoke lane.

Those track assignments unwittingly result in the dance we can see in the next weeks. Venus is currently making a turn around the sun trying to lap us again on the inside. She will, but it will take several more months to do it.

Her attempt to catch up with us will make her appear higher and higher in the sky each evening as she rounds the sun. Now hold that thought.

Jupiter is so slow that our own planet is now about to traverse to the opposite side of the sun as the Big Guy, making him appear to get closer to the backside of the sun in our evening skies.

Put these to movements together, Venus' uphill climb and Jupiter's downward fall and the two will appear to be getting closer to each other daily, passing by each other by the end of the month.

You will know when they are at their closest because a young crescent chaperone Moon will be right there on the dance floor to break them up on the last day of November, and the first of December.

There really is no need for the Moon to police their dance moves. They are nowhere near each other in reality. Jupiter is actually almost 450 million miles away from the bright temptress, way too far be entranced by her charms.

For those of you with telescopes, these are your last days to see Jupiter and his satellites for a while. They will soon disappear into the glare of the sun. But you can watch Venus as she approaches us, getting larger in the field of view as days go by.

Venus and Jupiter won't put on this nice of a display until 2010/2011. So if you have a chance in the next weeks, go sit up in the bleachers and be entertained.

Until next time, clear skies!