Visible in the Western sky this week, for those of us in North  America, will be an especially stunning conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter.  The two planets will come within 3 degrees of each other just after twilight and remain close till almost 11 p.m.  On March 25th, NASA will host a live chat about the conjunction of the planets, but I suppose I prefer to think of the scene from the first book of Virgil’s Aeneid, when Venus comes to her father to express the trouble in her heart.  As the poet writes,

Then Sire of gods and men upon her smiled
with mild expression calming sky and squalls,
and kissing her, he said,  “Fear not, my child.”

Olli subridens hominum sator atque deorum,
voltu, quo caelum tempestatesque serenat,
oscula libavit natae, dehinc talia fatur:
‘Parce metu, Cytherea.’