A spectacular double act starring Jupiter and Venus lit up the sky last night.

The two brightest planets appeared to be unusually close together – roughly two thirds of a full moon’s width apart.

They are not about to collide, it is only an illusion caused by the line of sight. In fact hundreds of millions of miles of space separate the planets.

After today they will start to go their separate ways again, with Venus below Jupiter.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: “The spectacle of the two brightest planets so close together is beautiful and really unusual. Many people wonder at what they are seeing – but it’s just a natural coincidence.”

Last night Jupiter appeared almost directly above Venus, but the pair will also make a striking sight for an evening or two on either side. “It’s a beautiful sight, and one which everyone can enjoy. It’s unusual for two such bright planets to be so close together, particularly in the midsummer evening sky. The time to look is about 10.30 to 11pm.”

Venus is now just over 90 million kilometres from Earth and Jupiter almost 900 million kilometres.

Tonight they will appear just 22 minutes of arc apart. For comparison, the full moon is 30 minutes of arc across.

Even a small telescope or a pair of binoculars will show the two planets in the same field of view.

At relatively low magnification Jupiter can be seen as a small circular disc accompanied by four bright moons. Venus is seen as a fat crescent.

A similar conjunction between the two planets will not be seen again until November 2019.