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9h ago

Venus and Jupiter Set for a Tight Evening Conjunction in Early June

The close pairing will be visible low after sunset and mark the start of a week of easy-to-see planetary and lunar sights for casual observers.

Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter shine in the sky above Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, Australia. Credit: Ed Dunens (Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Venus (top, upper right) and Jupiter (to Venus’ lower left) appeared 3° apart in the March 2012 sky. This month, the two worlds return to the same close alignment, but this time less than 2° apart. Credit: Alan Dyer
Summer Triangle with the Milky Way flowing through it
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Overview

  • Venus and Jupiter will draw as close as roughly 1.5 degrees on June 9, making them appear side-by-side in the western sky about 30–60 minutes after sunset.
  • Mercury will be briefly visible beneath the pair in bright twilight on June 8–9 for observers with a clear, low western horizon.
  • A sequence of moon–planet alignments follows the conjunction with a thin crescent near Saturn on June 10 and a Mars–crescent Moon–Saturn grouping on June 11.
  • Observers should use a clear west-northwest view and expect the best results with binoculars or a small telescope to fit both planets in one field and to pick out Jupiter’s moons.
  • The conjunction is one highlight in a busy month that includes a mid‑June new moon dark-sky window, the June 21 summer solstice, the Bootid meteor peak around June 27, the full Strawberry Moon on June 29, and UN‑recognized Asteroid Day on June 30.