Jupiter and Venus are having a … conjunction! In plain sight!

15_06_29_conjunctionJupiter and Venus are having a conjunction!  In plain sight!  No Obergefell v. Hodges for them, no sirree!

From SpaceWeather (and your own observation).

For the next few nights, the distance between the planets will continue to shrink. On June 30th they will be only 1/3rd of a degree apart–less than the diameter of the full Moon. If you have binoculars or a small telescope, point them at the planets. Both will fit in the same field of view, allowing you to see the fat crescent phase of Venus and the moons of Jupiter simultaneously. It’s a great way to end the day.

To find them, step outside just after sunset and look west. Don’t wait until the sky fades to black. A tight conjunction of Venus and Jupiter framed by twilight blue has a special beauty that you won’t want to miss.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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10 Comments

  1. WYMiriam says:

    I thought those two were awfully thick last night!! And such a wonderful sight it was, too! And how nice to know that the show will continue for the next few nights, too.

    “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth the work of His hands.”

  2. Gerard Plourde says:

    Saw the conjunction this evening on a long drive home from New York City. It was visible for the duration of the trip.Magnificent at dusk but still captivating once night had fallen as well.

  3. Supertradmum says:

    Sadly, we are in the mist of a thunderstorm here, but I hope tomorrow night is clear. Thanks for the reminder, Fr. Z.

  4. Auggie says:

    Fr. Z., thanks for reminding us to pay attention to the heavens. I love these posts and echo WYMiriam and Gerard regarding the wonderful and the magnificent.

  5. We’ve had beautiful clear sky at night for me to watch this gradually taking place – I’ve also seen Saturn near the moon. The brilliance of these planets is beautiful.

  6. John Fannon says:

    Here in West Dorset we have got a fine view of the western horizon. At 11 pm last night, Jupiter and Venus presented a fine sight about 2 degrees apart and 14 degrees above the horizon. Unusually for the UK we are being blessed with a few days of fine weather, and so I hope that we will be able to watch as the two planets seemingly converge.

    As WYMiriam reminds us “The heavens declare to the Glory of God …” (One of my mother’s favourite Biblical quotations)

  7. benedetta says:

    This is interesting Father, thank you. Yesterday I was looking over the beginning of our astronomy curriculum here and I realized that my student will have to wait to begin the investigations of the night sky as currently an early bedtime to pursue early morning sport makes the late night sky observation impossible. But not for this one which does not require full sunset by a couple hours in order to observe. Fun!

  8. Sonshine135 says:

    We had a great view of the heavens last night. It was beautiful and wondrous.

  9. RichR says:

    Just saw it, and a thought occurred to me: Jupiter is the king of the gods f “Our Father” in Latin). Venus is the goddess of Love. It seems that even the heavens are screaming down to us Americans #OneManOneWoman

  10. WYMiriam says:

    I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to see the conjunction tonight, but after a brief rain shower and a gorgeous full double rainbow, the clouds disappeared and WOOHOO! What a glorious sight!

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