(Posted 4 September 2016)
Don’t panic if you didn’t miss last month’s close encounter between Venus and Jupiter, don’t panic. Firstly, you can ‘just’ still see Mercury and Jupiter in the evening twilight below Venus and the crescent Moon. You will need a clear sky and low horizon tonight. Binoculars are highly recommended to locate much fainter Mercury.
You could look now if you have lots of patience, a pair of binoculars and know where to look. I use the Sky Safari Pro app to assist me with capturing the above Venus and Moon image. The two objects are almost 8 degrees apart making it very tricky to find both.
We also have an amazing planetary conjunction to look forward to in 2020 (see above chart). You will need a small telescope – so start saving. The view will be amazing!
