By Tim Binnall
Alongside awestruck astronomy aficionados taking in last night's spectacular Venus-Jupiter conjunction were a bevy of observers who did not get the proverbial memo and thought that the two planets were UFOs. In what may be a testament to the phenomenon's place in the current zeitgeist, local television stations across the country reported being contacted by countless viewers who were bewildered by the amazing sight. Social media also lit up with fantastic photos of the conjunction and a myriad of musings that perhaps the long-awaited moment of first contact was finally at hand.
"One after another, guesses as to what those light beams were began to surface," reported a Utah TV station, which observed that there was "one term proving to be widespread among reports: UFO." To that end, the slew of calls and emails led multiple media outlets to run stories assuring people at home that, as one Milwaukee station amusingly explained, the event unfolding in the night sky "isn't an alien invasion." While Wednesday's wondrous event was not a visit from ETs, the response from many people on the ground suggests that, should such a thing occur, it won't be easily missed.