Anyone glancing toward the western horizon after sunset in late May and early June may notice two unusually bright “stars” shining close together in the twilight. They are not stars at all, but Venus and Jupiter — the two brightest planets in Earth’s night sky — slowly coming together in one of 2026’s most eye-catching celestial events.
The planetary pairing (called a conjunction by astronomers) will peak on the evening of Tuesday, June 9, when the two worlds will appear exceptionally close above the western horizon. Visible without any special equipment, the conjunction is expected to become one of the year’s most photographed skywatching moments — and it’s already begun.
Look west after sunset tonight, and you’ll see one really bright “star” lower down and another, slightly less bright, to its upper left. The latter is Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, but it’s the lower Venus that already dominates the view.
During the conjunction on June 9, Venus will be roughly seven times brighter than Jupiter. Why is Venus so bright? Firstly, it’s far closer to Earth than Jupiter (about six times closer, in fact — and currently getting closer each night). Secondly, its dense cloud cover reflects a lot of sunlight. Throughout the summer, Venus will continue to shine prominently as the “Evening Star,” climbing higher into the twilight sky and reaching its greatest separation from the sunset in mid-August.
You can start watching it right now, roughly 45 minutes to two hours after sunset. The two planets will gradually get closer each night until June 9, when they will appear only 1.6 degrees apart — about three times the width of a full moon.
The event is entirely a matter of perspective. As Earth moves away from Jupiter — a slow-moving outer planet — the gas giant appears lower in the west each evening and will eventually disappear into the sun’s glare by late July. Meanwhile, the faster-moving inner planet Venus is approaching Earth, making it increasingly prominent after sunset.
(Forbes)
