On Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights, you will be able to see
The show begins on Saturday evening, June 25th. Step outside and look west toward the glow of the setting sun. Venus appears first, a bright point of light not far above the horizon. As the sky darkens, Saturn and Mercury pop into view. The three planets form a eye-catching triangle about 1.5o long, easily hidden by your thumb.
It gets better on Sunday evening, June 26th. The triangle shrinks with Venus and Mercury only 0.5o apart. Now they fit behind your pinky!
Monday evening, June 27th, is best of all. With Saturn nearby, Venus and Mercury converge. At closest approach, the two planets will be less than one-tenth of a degree apart. Such pairings of bright planets are literally spellbinding.
Details on NASA’s web site
Above: Saturn, Venus and Mercury converging at sunset on June 19, 2005. The three planets will get much closer together in the days ahead. Image credit: Jimmy Westlake of Yampa, Colorado.
