While stars and planets in the sky are as real as they get, some people are mistaking them for UFOs. Some residents in California’s Central Valley spotted two shiny dots in the sky one evening, prompting several 911 calls to the county sheriff.
The Stanislaus County sheriff took to Facebook to tell residents that they shouldn’t be calling 911 over the spots as NASA had already confirmed the stars were actually Jupiter and Venus. “There is no reason to report this,” the sheriff said.
The comments to the sheriff’s post added a touch of humor to the situation. One person wrote: “Calling 911 on stars is a new one.”
Another added: “I love the thought process: ‘Oh my god, what is that in the sky? Maybe the sheriff can help!'”
The two planets were closer than normal as Venus slowly shifted towards Jupiter. According to NASA, the two planets passed each other just half a degree apart. Per the National Weather Service, the next time Venus and Jupiter will be this close together will be February 7, 2032.