{"id":298808,"date":"2026-06-08T11:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T09:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/?p=298808"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:54:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T09:54:44","slug":"all-eyes-on-evening-sky-venus-meeting-jupiter-will-dazzle-no-telescope-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/all-eyes-on-evening-sky-venus-meeting-jupiter-will-dazzle-no-telescope-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"All eyes on evening sky: Venus \u2018meeting\u2019 Jupiter will dazzle, no telescope needed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BLOEMFONTEIN \u2013<\/strong> Look up to the sky in the early evenings over the next few days and see one of the most beautiful planetary encounters for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the South African north-western sky a brilliant planet, Venus, will steadily close the gap to Jupiter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This occurrence that started on Friday 5 June, will last until Wednesday 10 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A graphic showing the meeting of Venus and Jupiter above a city skyline. GRAPHIC: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mart-Mari Duvenhage of the Friends of Boyden Observatory and the Naval Hill Planetarium<\/a> explains that the two planets will appear noticeably closer together each evening, reaching their closest approach on Tuesday 9 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At that point, they will be separated by only about o.9\u00b0 \u2013<\/strong> roughly the width of your pinky finger held at arm’s length.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSO READ<\/strong>: Internasionale dag vir planetariums gevier<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To spot this encounter, look at the sky in the north-west about 45 minutes after sunset. No telescope is needed to see the two planets \u2013<\/strong> you can see it with the naked eye. Binoculars will ensure an even more spectacular view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A graphic showing where to look for the encounter in the skies above Bloemfontein. GRAPHIC: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mart-Mari supplies this handy guide for estimating angular distances: Three fingers at arm’s length is approximately 3\u00b0, and a pinky finger at arm’s length is about 1\u00b0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The position in the next few days at 18:15 is approximately:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 8 June \u2013 1.8\u00b0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 9 June \u2013 0.9\u00b0 (closest approach); and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 10 June \u2013 1.2\u00b0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    These are estimations for viewing the night sky above Bloemfontein, but the encounter will be visible everywhere in South Africa where there are clear skies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The planets Venus and Jupiter will over the next few days appear to move closer to each other and can be viewed 45 minutes after sunset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":298811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"67","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"28","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],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