Key Takeaways
- Venus and Jupiter are separated by just 1.8° this evening — close enough to fit inside a binocular field of view
- Look low in the west-northwest about 60 minutes after sunset, around 22:00–22:30 BST
- Venus is the brilliant white one; Jupiter is noticeably dimmer and sits just below it
- No equipment needed — this is a naked-eye event, but binoculars make it magical
- The gap closes slightly over the next few nights before they drift apart again
📑 Table of Contents
Step outside tonight after dinner, face west, and look low on the horizon. You'll see two brilliant points of light sitting so close together they could be mistaken for a wide double star. That's Venus and Jupiter — the two brightest planets in the sky — at their tightest separation of this year, just 1.8 degrees apart.
To put that in context: the full Moon spans about 0.5 degrees. So tonight, Venus and Jupiter are just a handful of Moon-widths apart. Both fit inside a single binocular field of view at the same time, a sight that's genuinely hard to forget once you've seen it.
What's Happening Tonight
This is what astronomers call a planetary conjunction — when two planets appear close together in the sky as seen from Earth. They're not actually near each other in space, of course; Venus is currently about 1.2 AU from us, while Jupiter is roughly 6.5 AU away. What we're seeing is a line-of-sight alignment, a moment when both planets happen to occupy nearly the same patch of sky from our vantage point on Earth.
Conjunctions between Venus and Jupiter happen roughly once a year, but not all of them are this close or this well-placed for UK observers. Tonight's 1.8° separation puts them at their closest this year, and both planets are sitting in the west-northwest after sunset — right where we can see them during the usable window between dusk and the planets setting.
The pair has been converging over the past week. If you've been watching the western sky on clear evenings, you'll have noticed Jupiter slowly creeping closer to Venus night by night. We covered the approach in our complete Venus–Jupiter conjunction guide, but tonight is the headline act.
Where and When to Look
Direction: West-northwest. Imagine the point where the sun set, then shift your gaze about 20–25 degrees to the right (northward). That's your target zone.
Time: The sweet spot for UK observers is between 22:00 and 22:30 BST. At that point, it's dark enough to see both planets clearly, but they're still high enough (around 10–15°) to be seen comfortably above most trees and rooftops. By 23:00 BST they're dropping fast, and by midnight they'll have set for most UK locations.
Altitude: Tonight they sit low — don't expect them to be high overhead. This is a western-horizon event. You'll need a reasonably clear western horizon, free of tall buildings or dense woodland. A hilltop, open field, or even a west-facing window can make the difference.
Venus sets around 23:55 BST from London tonight. Jupiter sets a few minutes later. So the window is generous — you have the whole evening from about 22:00 onwards.
Venus or Jupiter — How to Tell Them Apart
If you've never tried to identify planets before, here's a quick cheat sheet for tonight:
Venus is unmistakable. At magnitude −3.9 this week, it is far and away the brightest object in the sky after the Moon — brighter than any star, brighter than any aircraft light. It shines with a brilliant, slightly blue-white colour and doesn't twinkle the way stars do (it's a disc, not a point source, so atmospheric turbulence smooths out its light).
Jupiter is bright too, at around magnitude −1.9, but it's noticeably dimmer than Venus — roughly six times fainter to the eye. Jupiter has a warm cream-yellow hue. Tonight it sits just below and slightly left of Venus when facing west. It's the one that looks like it could be Venus's smaller sibling.
A quick rule: if you see one dazzling light and a slightly more modest one right next to it in the west, you've found them. Venus is the dazzling one.
Finder Charts From Stellarium
These charts were generated using Stellarium Web for London, 8 June 2026, at approximately 22:00 BST. They'll be accurate for anywhere in the UK — your local times will vary by a minute or two depending on longitude, but the sky positions will be essentially identical.
You can also load up Stellarium Web yourself and set your own location — just enter your town in the location search and the planets will be precisely positioned for your sky.
Using Binoculars or a Telescope
This event is absolutely worth enjoying with the naked eye first — stand outside, let your eyes adjust for a few minutes, and simply take in the sight of two planets side by side. It's genuinely moving in a way that no telescope eyepiece can quite replicate.
Binoculars will genuinely enhance the experience here. Any 7×50 or 10×50 pair will show both planets in the same field of view, and you may be able to see Jupiter's four Galilean moons as tiny dots strung out beside it. Hold the binoculars steady against a wall or fence to stop them shaking.
A small telescope will reveal more: Venus shows a gibbous phase tonight (about 77% illuminated and roughly 15 arcseconds across), while Jupiter — even at this distance of 6.5 AU — shows its banded cloud belts and the moons clearly at 40× or above. The challenge tonight is the low altitude, which means you'll be looking through a thick slice of atmosphere. Higher magnification will amplify the atmospheric wobble. Stick to 50× or below for the sharpest views.
Recommended kit for tonight
You don't need anything — but each step up adds something new. Binoculars show both planets together; a telescope reveals Venus's phase and Jupiter's moons; a smart scope photographs it automatically.
Affiliate disclosure: links to First Light Optics use our referral code. You pay the same price — we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
What Comes Next
After tonight, the two planets will slowly begin to separate. The gap will widen gradually over the coming days, though they'll remain close enough to see together in binoculars for several more evenings.
Jupiter continues its journey eastward through the stars of Gemini through the summer, while Venus — being closer to the Sun and moving faster — will pull away and begin climbing higher in the evening sky over the coming weeks. By late June, Venus will be noticeably higher and more prominent, becoming one of the unmissable sights of the July and August evening sky.
Mercury is also in the west this evening, sitting below and to the right of the pair — though you'll need a clear, flat horizon and a sharp eye to catch it, as it's much fainter and lower. Our full June night sky guide covers Mercury and the other June highlights in more detail.
In the meantime, take advantage of tonight's clear-sky forecast (if you're lucky enough to have one) and get outside. Two worlds, 1.8° apart, hanging over the British countryside — it doesn't get much better than that.
Sources:
- Stellarium Web — sky position data and finder charts for London, 8 June 2026
- EarthSky — Visible Planets Tonight — Venus and Jupiter June 2026 positions
- Space.com — Planet Parade Guide June 2026
