Not supposed to, but they can. The BA even has one of his chapters in his book headed by this couplet:
Twinkle, twinkle, little planet,
Can'tobserve so better can it.
Meaning, when the seeing is so bad that the planets twinkle, you might as well go back in the house and hang it up for the night.

According to SkyMap, Venus and Mars are nearly a degree and a half apart--three times the width of the moon. That's pretty far. And Mars is mag. 1.7, not quite as bright as nearby Spica, but you should be able to see it easily.

<font size=-1>[ Fixed poem ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GrapesOfWrath on 2002-12-07 07:23 ]</font>