The two brightest planets are gliding closer together in the early evening sky, and their celestial dance culminates with an ultra-close pairing on June 30th.
Anyone who pays even cursory attention to the evening sky has surely noticed that the two brightest planets,Venus and Jupiter, have been drawing closer together in the west in the evening twilight.
The slow motion convergence of the planets is setting the stage for a dramatic sky sight. The warm-up act came on June 19th and 20th when the planetary duo was joined by a thin and lovely crescent moon. Farther to their upper left,and fainter,was Regulus,the alpha star of Leo.
But now the spectacle is taking an even more dramatic turn -one you can't miss. For eight nights beginning June 27th these two bright planets will be within 2 degrees of each other- close enough to cover both with the thumb of an outstretched hand. In the midst of that weeklong run on June 30th,Venus and Jupiter will appear so close together - just 1/3° apart that they'll look like a tight brilliant double star in the evening sky. - Sky and Telescope
