The first of two major planetary alignments of June is unfolding as Jupiter and Venus shine side-by-side in the evening sky.
As AccuWeather reports, it will be hard to miss the pairing in the western sky after sunset, as the two can be easily seen without a telescope. Venus will be the brighter of the two, shining to the right of Jupiter on the evenings of Monday, June 8, and Tuesday, June 9.
“These two blazing worlds in our evening sky will be only about 1.5 degrees apart,” EarthSky explained on its website. “Your pinky held at arm’s length should just fit between them. Don’t miss this!” Venus and Jupiter will not appear this close again in the night sky until November of 2028.
The planets will begin to drift away from each other in the night sky, but will remain fixtures in the evening throughout the rest of June. They will also be the centerpiece of another celestial sight later in the month.
The next big planet array will be from June 16-18, when the crescent moon will sweep past Jupiter and Venus. As an added bonus, Mercury will also be glowing nearby, creating a must-see planetary alignment event.
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