March 18-21, 2026: A thin crescent moon appears low in the western sky after sunset, revealing earthshine — the softly lit “Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms.”
Category: Feature
2024, September 1: Mercury’s September Morning Appearance
September 1, 2024: Mercury appears in the morning sky during early September. It joins the nightly parade of five bright planets through mid-month.
2024-2025: Venus, Evening Star
2024-2025: Brilliant Venus is the Evening Star after sunset in the western sky.
2024, Jupiter, Mars in Taurus
2024: During July, August, and September, bright Jupiter and Mars move eastward in front of Taurus’ distant stars.
Mars Opposition 2022
Mars appears at opposition on December 7, 2022. Throughout the summer, autumn and early winter, Mars dances with the stars of Taurus.
2022: Venus as a Morning Star
During 2022, Morning Star Venus puts on a magnificent dance with Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the moon in eastern sky before sunrise. Next Event: Venus, Mars, and the moon gather, January 29, 2022.
2021 – 2022, Venus – Mars Triple Conjunction
During 2021 into 2022, Venus passes Mars three times for a triple conjunction. The first occurs on July 12, 2021. The others occur during early 2022, followed by a close approach of the two planets.
2020: Great Conjunction Slideshow
On December 21, 2020, Jupiter passes Saturn in a conjunction. Because they are infrequent, occurring every 19.6 years, they are called great conjunctions
1623: The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
Did anybody observe the Jupiter - Saturn Great Conjunction of 1623? It was the closest until the Great Conjunction of 2020 with Jupiter passes close to Saturn on December 21, 2020.
2020: December 21: The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
On December 21, 2020, in a close conjunction, Jupiter passes Saturn in the evening sky This is known as a Great Conjunction. Look toward the southwest about one hour after sunset. The bright "star" is Jupiter. Dimmer Saturn is immediately to the Giant Planet's upper right.