Stargazer alert: Venus, Jupiter will appear to be 'kissing' this week
This week will offer one of the great opportunities in June to take in a special celestial event – a Venus-Jupiter planetary conjunction.
On June 9, the two planets will appear incredibly close together from our vantage point, but its actually an optical illusion as they will still be millions of miles apart in space.
One of the best parts of the spectacle is that the planets will appear so bright that you won’t need any special equipment to enjoy it, according to Sky and Telescope.
To get a glimpse of the “kissing planets,” look west-northwest 45 minutes to 2 hours after the sun goes down, the site recommends.
Mercury will add to the planetary display when it joins the pair in the sky two days later. Mercury will sit closer to the horizon, so you’ll need a clear view west to see it.
Some lucky viewers will see Venus temporarily “disappear” as the moon passes in front of it, according to NASA.
The celestial excitement will continue with the June 21 solstice, marking the start of astronomical summer, as well as the Bootid meteor shower on June 27 and the micro Strawberry Moon on June 29.
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