May 23-29, 2026: Watch Venus rapidly close the gap to Jupiter with Gemini during late May evenings. Follow the bright planets past Pollux, Alhena, Mebsuta, and other notable Gemini stars.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus as an Evening Star
Venus Overtakes Jupiter
After sunset, Venus is rapidly overtaking Jupiter in one of the year’s best evening planet displays. An hour after sunset, the Evening Star is over 15° above the west-northwest horizon, shining prominently against the fading twilight and outshining every other starlike body in the sky. Jupiter, bright but clearly dimmer than Venus, is to the upper left.
Both planets are in front of Gemini as their conjunction steadily approaches. Venus passes Jupiter on June 9. Each evening Venus steps eastward nearly 10 times faster than Jupiter, making the changing scene easy to follow without optical aid.
Jupiter slowly rambles eastward over 6° to Pollux’s lower left, one of the Twins. The Jovian Giant passes the star in a wide conjunction (6.3°) on May 28.
During the seven evenings outlined here, the Venus–Jupiter gap closes from 16.8° to 10.7°. The changing separation is noticeable from night to night. Use a binocular and follow Venus as it moves against Gemini’s stars toward the June 9 conjunction.
Highlights of Approach
Here are some highlights as Venus closes in on Jupiter:
• May 23: Venus passes 2.8° to the upper right of Tejat Posterior, Castor’s heel. The Venus–Jupiter gap is 16.6°.
• May 26: Venus passes 8.6° to the upper right of Alhena, meaning “the brand mark.” The star is Gemini’s third brightest star after the Twins and the 30th brightest visible from the mid-northern latitudes. It is nearly 20° from Pollux and about 7° south of the ecliptic, so most conjunctions with bright solar system bodies are fairly wide. The Venus–Jupiter gap is 13.6°.
• May 27: Venus passes 0.5° to Mebsuta’s upper left. The name means “the outstretched lion’s paw,” although this is not a reference to the modern Leo constellation. The Venus–Jupiter gap is 12.6°.
• May 28: Jupiter passes Pollux in a wide conjunction. The Venus–Jupiter gap is 11.6°.
• May 29: Venus has reduced the distance to Jupiter to 10.7°. Begin looking for Mercury. Tonight, it is nearly 5° above the west-northwest horizon and 17° to Venus’ lower right. Each evening Mercury is easier to see as it cuts the gap to Venus, although it does not overtake the brilliant planet.
Beginning May 30, the Venus–Jupiter gap is under 10°, about the distance across your outstretched fist from thumb to pinky finger. Watch Venus pass Gemini’s stars as the June 9 conjunction approaches.
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