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For stargazers everywhere this June will be a special month. Venus and Jupiter are expected to approach each other and will continue to get closer until the planetary conjunction that will occur on at the end of this month on June 30.
This special astronomical event can be witnessed every night in June and will begin unfolding after sunset in the western night sky.
Those who would like to witness this planetary phenomenon can look up at the night sky and will be able to see Venus and Jupiter because the two planets will shine the brightest.
Stargazers who live in urban areas will also be able to witness the event even if they live in areas that are polluted by light.
By the end of June and the beginning of July, the two planets can be seen approaching each other as in a celestial embrace.
However, planet Venus, which is Earth’s closest neighbor, will shine brighter than Jupiter.
If seen through a telescope, Venus will appear as a bright half-moon covered with clouds that will eventually become crescent in shape as the end of June approaches.
Venus is very similar to the Moon, meaning that it changes its shapes because its orbit of the sun is within Earth’s orbit and the angle between our planet, Venus and the sun changes.
Skygazers will also be able to see some of Jupiter’s moons, which resemble small stars. Also, cloud bands that stretch across the planet will be visible during the month of June.
However, this week the approaching of Venus and Jupiter to each other will be slightly washed out because of the moonlight, but experts believe that by next week the planets’ visibility will improve.
Those who will be watching the night sky this week may also be able to identify Saturn in the southeastern sky.
On Monday night, the moon will appear in the lower right side of Saturn. On Tuesday, the moon will be visible in the upper left side of Saturn, while the planet will appear as the brightest star.
According to the astronomers, later this week Venus will move away from the Pollux star that is in the Gemini constellation and move into the Cancer constellation.
Jupiter will move from the Cancer constellation and into Leo’s, experts announced.
Venus and Jupiter will be only a few degrees apart from each other on the azimuth by the middle of this month.
Image Source: jeffreylhunt
