{"id":863774,"date":"2026-06-13T04:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/863774\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T04:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:40:17","slug":"venus-jupiter-conjunction-skys-2-brightest-planets-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/863774\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky\u2019s 2 brightest planets meet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venus and Jupiter \u2013 the sky\u2019s 2 brightest planets \u2013 are shining together in the west after sunset. They were closest on June 8 and 9. But June overall offers your best opportunity to see them together. This video shows you where to look, when to look, and what you\u2019ll see as these 2 bright planets undergo their spectacular conjunction. EarthSky\u2019s Deborah Byrd<\/a> is host. Submit your Venus-Jupiter photo<\/a> to EarthSky\u2019s community page! Watch the video in the player above, or on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss the next unmissable night sky event.<\/strong> Sign up for EarthSky\u2019s free newsletter and get daily night sky updates.<\/a><\/p>\n

See the Venus-Jupiter conjunction<\/p>\n

An amazing whole-Earth event is happening in the evening twilight sky. The brightest planets visible from Earth \u2013 Venus and Jupiter \u2013 look very close together. Maybe your friends and family have already asked you, \u201cWhat are those two bright stars after sunset?\u201d You can tell them they aren\u2019t stars at all, but Venus and Jupiter!<\/p>\n

They had their closest pairing, or conjunction, on June 8 and 9. But they\u2019re still close together and making a beautiful sight. Plus, the moon will join the scene for a more dramatic view on June 16 and 17.<\/p>\n

Read more: Venus-Jupiter conjunction 2026. Wow! Best photos here<\/a>
\"SkyOn the evening of June 16, shortly after sunset, check out the pretty waxing crescent<\/a> moon. It\u2019ll hang low in the western sky. And it\u2019ll be near the brilliant planet Venus and our largest planet, Jupiter. The elusive planet Mercury will be there as well. Look for them about 35 minutes after sunset. Chart via EarthSky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"SkyShortly after sunset on June 17, the thin crescent moon will glow next to brilliant Venus, with Jupiter and Mercury below. Chart via EarthSky<\/a>.
\nHow to see them<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t seen them yet? Here\u2019s what to do. Just look west after sunset. Venus will pop into view first. Jupiter \u2013 only slightly fainter than Venus \u2013 will appear next. Over the past few weeks, Venus was lower while Jupiter was higher above the horizon, but now they\u2019ve passed each other and switched. In early June, as seen from Earth\u2019s Northern or Southern Hemisphere, the planetary pair will set more than two hours after sunset.<\/p>\n

On June 16, a thin crescent moon will make a triangle with Jupiter and Mercury. And on June 17, the moon will be just a bit higher than Venus. Use binoculars to look between the moon and Venus in order to spot a pretty star cluster known as the Beehive<\/a>. This cluster buzzing with stars lies in the constellation Cancer<\/a> the Crab.<\/p>\n

\"Venus-JupiterDid you see the Venus-Jupiter conjunction? Let us know in the comments below. Image via EarthSky<\/a>.
\nVenus-Jupiter conjunction: What else to watch for<\/p>\n

While watching for the Venus-Jupiter pairing, you might also notice a second, fainter pair of objects nearby. They aren\u2019t planets. They\u2019re distant stars.<\/p>\n

They are the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini<\/a> the Twins. The brighter one is called Pollux<\/a>, and its fainter \u201cbrother\u201d is called Castor<\/a>. They\u2019re not nearly as bright as Venus and Jupiter. But they\u2019ll mimic the \u201cdoubleness\u201d of the two planets. So they\u2019ll be noticeable if your sky is dark enough.<\/p>\n

And lower down, closer to the horizon, you might spot another planet, elusive Mercury. It should be fairly bright, but not nearly as bright as Venus and Jupiter.<\/p>\n

Optical aid will enhance the view<\/p>\n

You definitely don\u2019t need binoculars or a telescope to see Venus and Jupiter. They\u2019ll outshine all the stars!<\/p>\n

But ordinary binoculars<\/a> will give you an enhanced view. When closest, Venus and Jupiter will easily fit into your binoculars\u2019 field of view. Look for a subtle color difference, with Venus piercing white and Jupiter slightly creamier or yellowish.<\/p>\n

With a tripod or steady hand (or by leaning against a wall or fence), your binoculars might show you one or two of Jupiter\u2019s four largest moons. These are the famous Galilean satellites<\/a> (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto). They\u2019ll look like tiny pinpricks of light, in a line bisecting the planet.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a telescope will reveal more. Venus is currently in a gibbous phase, between half and fully lit. Didn\u2019t know Venus shows phases? It does!<\/a><\/p>\n

Brightest vs. biggest<\/p>\n

Jupiter and Venus look roughly the same size in our sky. But, if you could see them side by side in space, you would find Jupiter about 12 times wider than Venus. Also, you could fit over 1,000 Venuses inside Jupiter. So why does Venus look brighter to us?<\/p>\n

For one, Venus is much closer to us than Jupiter. Right now the two planets might look close together in our sky, but in reality, they are quite far apart. Venus is currently about 111 million miles (180 million km) from Earth. And Jupiter is much farther away at 560 million miles (900 million km) from Earth.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s reason number two why Venus looks brighter. It\u2019s covered with thick clouds that are good at reflecting sunlight. Venus reflects about 70% of the sunlight that strikes it. Meanwhile, Jupiter reflects about 52% of the sunlight that strikes it.<\/p>\n

Read more: Why is Venus so bright in our Earth\u2019s sky?<\/a><\/p>\n

What will the planets do next?<\/p>\n

Venus will appear each evening a little farther from the sunset point than Jupiter. Its greatest elongation<\/a>, or greatest apparent distance from the sun in the twilight sky, will fall on August 14-15, 2026. Afterwards, Venus will drop sunward. It\u2019ll pass between us and the sun in October 2026, and afterwards emerge in the east before dawn.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jupiter will continue dropping steadily toward the sunset point. It\u2019ll pass into the sun\u2019s glare in July 2026, moving behind the sun from Earth. It\u2019ll emerge in the east before dawn after about mid-August.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the view over many weeks, from Wyoming<\/p>\n

EarthSky\u2019s Marcy Curran<\/a> and her husband Martin have been capturing images of Venus and Jupiter with an all-sky camera<\/a> since early April, at their WyoAstro Observatory<\/a> near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Thank you, Marcy and Martin! <\/p>\n

Bottom line: Did you see the Venus-Jupiter conjunction? The planets are still close together and putting on a show in the west after sunset.<\/p>\n

Read more: New evidence of lava tube on Venus found in old radar data<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: Lightning on Jupiter is 100 times more powerful than Earth\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Kelly Kizer Whitt
\n View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Kelly Kizer Whitt – EarthSky\u2019s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube – writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She’s been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venus and Jupiter \u2013 the sky\u2019s 2 brightest planets \u2013 are shining together in the west after sunset.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":863775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[159,783,50442,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-863774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space","tag-tonight","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116740964189013614","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}