Jupiter and Venus will be separated by less than two degrees in the sunset sky on June 9! Here’s how you can watch the dazzling conjunction from the comfort of your home, courtesy of a livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project.
The livestream is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), featuring live views of Venus and Jupiter from the Virtual Telescope Project’s suite of robotic telescopes in Manciano, Italy, weather permitting.
Virtual Telescope Project founder Gianluca Masi shared a gorgeous photo of Jupiter and Venus shining together on June 6, which gave us a tantalising preview of the breathtaking visuals that we can expect during the upcoming livestream.
Venus shines to the right in the image, surrounded by a diffuse haze as the sunlight reflected off its surface illuminates a wisp of cloud during its passage through Earth’s atmosphere. Jupiter — the king of the planets — casts a warm light to the left, accompanied by a line of bright star-like objects that represent the gas giant’s four large Galilean moons.
By June 9, Venus will sit less than two degrees to the upper right of Jupiter in the western sky — roughly the width of two little fingers held at arm’s length — while Mercury‘s steady light will shine to the lower right of the planetary duo, almost lost in the glow of the setting sun.
Want to capture spectacular photos of the night sky for yourself? Then be sure to check out our beginner’s guide to photographing the night sky, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s Note: If you capture a photo of Jupiter and Venus and would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.