Overview
- Venus and Jupiter will reach peak closeness on June 8–9, appearing roughly 1.6 degrees apart low in the western sky shortly after sunset.
- Mercury is forecast to join the pair from June 11–15, creating a three‑planet lineup that will sit very low in twilight and may be hard to spot from cities.
- A lunar occultation of Venus is predicted on June 17 with a narrow visibility path across parts of the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela and some views occurring in daylight.
- Hyderabad observers are advised to use a 7:00–8:00 pm IST viewing window, with Mercury likely visible by about 7:15 pm and local set times near 8:15 pm for Mercury, 9:20 pm for Venus, and 9:45 pm for Jupiter, according to the G.P. Birla Observatory.
- The close grouping is an apparent alignment only, not a physical approach, so viewers should seek dark sites with unobstructed west horizons, bring binoculars or a small telescope for enhancement, and avoid pointing optics near the Sun without proper solar filters.