Topline<\/p>\n
Skywatchers are already out shortly after sunset observing one of the celestial highlights of 2026 \u2014 the close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. The two brightest planets in the night sky are appearing to inch toward each other ahead of a close conjunction on Tuesday, June 9. On that date, Venus and Jupiter will appear in the post-sunset sky less than the width of a thumb held at arm\u2019s length, according to Sky & Telescope<\/a>, so close they will appear to almost touch. <\/p>\n On June 9th, the two brightest planets come together in the western sky. <\/p>\n Sky & TelescopeKey Facts<\/p>\n On Tuesday, June 9, Jupiter and Venus will be just 1.6 degrees apart in the evening sky. However, the planets will remain within five degrees of each other from June 4-14, so skywatchers are advised to get outside on the next clear night and have a look.<\/p>\n The conjunction is visible low in the western sky about 45 minutes after sunset (around 8:30 p.m. in North America), but only for a couple of hours. <\/p>\n Mercury will also be visible below and to the right, creating a rare three-planet \u201cparade.\u201d A waxing crescent moon will join the planets on June 16-17.<\/p>\n Look for the planetary duo in the western sky about 45 minutes after sunset. <\/p>\n Sky & TelescopeAn Optical Illusion<\/p>\n Although it will be a spectacular naked-eye sight, the conjunction is not a true close encounter between Venus and Jupiter in space. This week, Venus will be about 110 million miles (180 million kilometers) from Earth, while Jupiter will be roughly 560 million miles (900 million kilometers) distant. Their apparent proximity is simply a line-of-sight effect. Planetary conjunctions occur when planets appear close together from Earth\u2019s perspective as they orbit the sun along a similar plane.<\/p>\n What Makes The Pairing Spectacular<\/p>\n Planetary conjunctions are not rare, but the June 9 event stands out because of the exceptional brightness of both Jupiter and Venus.<\/p>\n Venus, often called the \u201cEvening Star,\u201d will shine brilliantly alongside Jupiter, creating a striking contrast against the twilight sky. Venus will shine at magnitude -4.0, while Jupiter will be magnitude -1.9. That makes Venus about seven times brighter. That\u2019s despite Venus being slightly smaller than Earth, while Jupiter is more than ten times Earth\u2019s size. Venus will appear significantly brighter because it\u2019s much closer to Earth \u2014 and getting closer. Its reflective cloud cover also makes it shine brightly.<\/p>\n As an added bonus, skywatchers may also see Mercury lower on the horizon. The elusive \u201cSwift Planet\u201d will appear beneath and to the right of Jupiter and Venus before setting later in the evening.<\/p>\n This is how Venus and Jupiter will appear as seen through binoculars (at a magnification of about 7\u00d7) on the evening of June 9, 2026.<\/p>\n Sky & Telescope \/ StellariumHow To See The Conjunction<\/p>\n All you need are your naked eyes to find the three planets against the fading glow of sunset. The pair will be located within the constellation Gemini, positioned to the left of its well-known stars, Castor and Pollux, also called \u201cthe twins.\u201d Through binoculars, the conjunction will appear as a brilliant pairing while those using small telescopes will enjoy an even more detailed view \u2014 including some of Jupiter\u2019s four giant moons as pinpricks of light close to the planet, and Venus as a partly-lit disk.<\/p>\n An Extended Viewing Window<\/p>\n Although June 9 is when the two planets will appear to be at their closest, Jupiter and Venus will remain within five degrees of each other from June 4 through June 14, providing a wide viewing window. The display will become even more picturesque on June 16-17 when a 5-11%-lit waxing crescent moon joins the \u201cplanet parade.\u201d<\/p>\n After the conjunction, Jupiter will continue to sink toward the horizon while Venus climbs higher in the western sky, growing brighter and dominating the post-sunset sky all summer.<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesWhat Are Those Two Bright Stars In The West After Sunset?By Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesWhy New York\u2019s \u2018Manhattanhenge Effect\u2019 Actually Lasts 44 DaysBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesIt\u2019s 100 Days Until A Total Solar Eclipse. Here\u2019s How To See ItBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Skywatchers are already out shortly after sunset observing one of the celestial highlights of 2026 \u2014 the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1005772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[278716,17172,278712,278713,278718,3890,70,278715,16,15,20630,278717,278714],"class_list":["post-1005771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-june-9-sky-event","tag-jupiter","tag-jupiter-and-venus-conjunction","tag-jupiter-venus-mercury","tag-planetary-conjunction-2026","tag-planets","tag-science","tag-two-bright-stars","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-venus","tag-venus-and-jupiter","tag-what-are-the-two-stars"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116694315594731697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}