Mercury is now visible under Jupiter & Venus after sunset, an orange dot rising toward the pair of bright lights sliding toward conjunction above it.
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An event you’re guaranteed to see (if you have clear skies)
Jupiter and Venus are nearly side-by-side, catching the eye of anyone who glances up to the west after sunset. And while the pair will slide past each other June 8-10, coming so close they’ll look like they could touch, a third planet is now visible in the evening sky, waving its hands trying to make you notice it: Mercury.
It’s not the easiest to spot. Mercury is fairly low in the sky right now and won’t get too much higher. But if you know where to look, you’ll see that twinkle of orange.
Like I said in last week’s newsletter, this is not an event to miss! Conjunctions of Jupiter & Venus are only visible in the evening sky about once every three years, with the next one taking place in early September 2029.
There are others in that time, but those take place either in very early predawn hours, or in broad daylight. So the one happening June 8-10? Yeah, you are GUARANTEED to see it with your naked eyes unless you have clouds or live above the arctic circle (in which case, just use binoculars, and you’ll find them sparkling somewhere in the daylight!)
As of Wednesday, June 3rd, Jupiter & Venus were a “peace sign” held at arm’s length apart. Tonight they’ll be less than three fingers wide apart. Friday, two fingers. Saturday and Sunday, one finger or less.
Then Monday through Wednesday, they’ll pass just about one diameter of the Moon (as seen in the sky) apart from each other. Use binoculars or smaller telescopes to get up-close views of them in the same view. Larger telescopes with a FOV of about 2 degrees might catch them together, but my own telescope that you’ve used at sidewalk astronomy won’t capture them at the same time.
Below Left: Jupiter & Venus on Sunday, June 1st. Below Right: a very faint Mercury lingers above the top of the mountains, trying to catch up with Jupiter & Venus. Look at the area above the red barn.
Remember that I’ll be in San Diego for the conjunction! I have a private event just north of the city on Sunday night, then I’ll be downtown at Seaport Village on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, providing free views of the conjunction for anyone who walks by.
After the conjunction, I head to Pennsylvania and won’t be around for about a week, but will return to Arizona on June 21st for about 40 days (and might meander a bit, but will be basing out of Sedona until the end of July before heading to Idaho and Montana for almost two months.
Snap pictures of the conjunction wherever you are and send them to me at “thehikingastronomer@gmail.com” or DM me on my socials, primarily Instagram.
Look for the sliver of the crescent Moon to join Jupiter on the night of June 16th and Venus on June 17th. Then, on June 20th, Mercury and Jupiter reach out toward each other, almost coming into conjunction…then Mercury will abruptly swing around and dip down out of Jupiter’s reach toward the Sun again.
Sci-Fi Book Update
On June 2nd, I reached 78,620 words in the sixth book of my Recovery series, Annex. This is also the third book in the series’ second trilogy, closing out The Account of Belvun and building up to the third and final trilogy of the series.
Annex is set to be published on October 20, 2028.
Find the first five books of the series and explore the universe I’ve been building since 2012. Start with Embassy, Book 1 of the Recovery series. My books are how I got into education, after all!
I have all books currently in stock and can be shipped by next-day, or picked up at sidewalk astronomy.
And if you’re wondering why I use mint green pages in the picture above…
There’s less contrast, so it’s easier on the eyes! And, anecdotally, over the years I’ve found that I write about 30% more words per writing session compared with when I used to write with a white background.
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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