The Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the Evening Sky
Starting tonight, go out and look west after sunset everyday. You will see two bright “stars”; but they are no stars, the brightest one is planet Venus and the other is Jupiter. If weather permits, you may also see a third bright star, and that is a real star named Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the lion. These two planets are currently “moving” toward each other and will meet at the end of this month, where you can see them side by side. They are so near to each other that their separation is even smaller than our Moon’s diameter!
The picture below was taken on 21 and 22 June. The Moon has “moved up” due to its orbit around the Earth. Look at Venus and Jupiter, it may not be obvious at first, but if you measure their separation carefully, you will find that on they were nearer to each other on the 22nd compared to 21st. And they will be nearer and nearer for the nights to come!
Happy Planet-gazing!
My Dark Sky 