Jupiter

Celestial event

Mars is closing on Jupiter: watch the gap shrink to 1.2° by November 16

Two bright planets are up before dawn right now, and the gap between them shrinks every morning for the next month. This morning Mars and Jupiter are 12.7° apart, a bit more than a fist held at arm’s length. By the morning of November 16 that gap is down to 1.19°, a little over two full-Moon widths. Closest approach is around 02:00 UT on the 16th, which is 04:00 in Cyprus, with both planets riding high in the south-east. You don’t need any equipment for this one. Pick a morning each week, note how far apart the two points are, and watch Mars catch up. Binoculars add Jupiter’s moons. Around the 16th, a small telescope at its lowest power can just about hold both planets in a single field. ...

Artist's illustration of ESA's JUICE spacecraft, its cross-shaped solar arrays extended, in front of Jupiter and the Great Red Spot

Space news

JUICE flies past Earth on September 29 — a fuel-free speed boost on the long road to Jupiter

At the end of this month a Jupiter-bound spacecraft is going to thread past Earth to steal a tank of speed it can’t buy any other way. On 29 September 2026, ESA’s JUICE — the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer — makes its second solo flyby of our planet, a gravity assist that borrows a sliver of Earth’s own motion around the Sun and hands it to the spacecraft for free. No engine burn does the heavy lifting here. Geometry does. ...

Venus, Moon, and Jupiter in conjunction above the horizon

Celestial event

Venus–Jupiter conjunction on June 9: both planets fit in one binocular view

On the evening of June 9, Venus and Jupiter close to within roughly 1.5° of each other, about three full-moon widths, low in the western twilight. Venus, near magnitude −4, is the brighter of the two. Jupiter sits at about magnitude −2, dimmer but impossible to miss. Both planets fit comfortably inside a standard binocular field of view, and you don’t need anything more than your eyes to enjoy the pairing. The show runs for the better part of a week on either side of the closest approach, so one cloudy night won’t ruin it. ...

Four planets aligned above the horizon in the predawn sky, photographed from Brisbane, Australia

Beginner stargazing

Five planets you can see without a telescope this June

All five naked-eye planets are out this June, split between the evening and morning sky. The headline act: Venus and Jupiter converge to within 1°38’ of each other on June 9, the two brightest objects in the night sky after the Moon, close enough to cover both with your thumb at arm’s length. You don’t need a telescope, a dark sky, or any experience. Here’s where and when to look. ...