Although the connection between the stars and romance might seem obvious, the Cincinnati Observatory’s proposal to host an annual Valentine Day’s evening suffered some complications.

“I had to be convinced,” Cincinnati Observatory outreach astronomer (and PBS co-host) Dean Aregas said with a laugh. “Just because it was nonscientific. But then I learned there’s a lot of history of people falling in love at observatories. We’ve had weddings and marriage proposals here throughout the year. And all of our previous directors met their spouses here.”

The observatory’s Valentine’s Night event is now in its fourth year. Aregas said it reliably sells out. When guests arrive Thursday night, they can have chocolates and light hors d’oeuvres. The ambience includes flowers and strolling violinists.

“They’ll (the guests) get a little tour, with the history of romance at the observatory,” Aregas said. “If the night is clear, we’ll give them a look through our old telescope, which is 170 years old. People love it.”

Of course, because of planetary movements, what’s visible even in a cloud-free sky varies from year to year. Ideally for Valentine’s Day, red or passion-themed planets are best (i.e. Mars and Venus). If all else fails, then the moon is always good, but sometimes stargazers won’t even get that.

“Last year, we had Mars, which was good,” said Aregas. “This year, we’ll get the moon. It will be a crescent. And we’ll also have Jupiter.”

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was named for the thunderbolt-wielding Roman sky god, who was himself appropriated from the Greeks’ Zeus. Although despite being quite photogenic, Aregas said Jupiter is not an ideal Valentines’ Day representative.

“He had a few too many loves,” he said.