The solar system’s largest and smallest planets meet in the evening sky, standing 2° apart shortly after sunset.
Jupiter meets Mercury in a conjunction visible for a short time after sunset in early June. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly
Today, Mercury passes 2° north of Jupiter at 4 P.M. EDT. You can catch them together in the evening twilight, sinking in the west after sunset. But be quick: They are just a few degrees above the horizon half an hour after sunset. If you can get to a location with a clear western horizon, you’ll have the best chance of the longest view before the gas giant slips out of sight.
Mercury, shining at magnitude –1.3, stands just to Jupiter’s upper right. The gas giant shines at magnitude –1.9, only slightly brighter. Both will fit well inside the field of view of binoculars and may also stand together in a wide-field telescope eyepiece or your finder scope. Take care not to pull out any optics for use until the Sun has fully set from your location, which may differ from the time given below.
Take a look at each planet in turn. Mercury, physically much smaller but closer to Earth, shows off a disk that’s 5” wide and 89 percent lit. Jupiter is fully lit and appears 32” wide — a testament to its truly massive size, despite its greater distance. Mercury is currently some 116 billion miles (187 billion km) from Earth, while Jupiter is nearly 570 billion miles (917 billion km) distant.
Although Jupiter is flanked by its four Galilean moons, they will be difficult to make out in the brightening sky. The planet’s Great Red Spot is also transiting this morning and may be visible for those with particularly steady seeing.
Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:27 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:26 P.M.
Moonset: 3:25 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (94%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
