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Crescent Moon Sweeps Past Venus and Jupiter Over Three Evenings

The pairing previews a much tighter VenusJupiter conjunction expected in early June.

Overview

  • The young crescent Moon sits very close to Venus on Monday evening across India, best viewed 30 to 60 minutes after sunset low in the west‑northwest.
  • As the Moon moves along the ecliptic, it appears between Venus and Jupiter on Tuesday then shifts nearer Jupiter on Wednesday.
  • Viewers need no telescope, though a clear horizon helps in cities where the trio sits low in bright twilight.
  • Venus will be the brightest point at about magnitude −3.9, with Jupiter near −1.9, which makes both easy to pick out in dusk.
  • The tight grouping is an optical lineup rather than a close meeting in space, and Venus and Jupiter will come much closer around June 9.