![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/04\/Jupiter-Venus-Moon-conjunction-d5631e1.jpg?quality=45&resize=620,413\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
C<\/span>onjunction: what a funny-sounding word it is, yet in the field of astronomy this phenomenon can give us some wondrous night-sky sights, ranging from naked-eye views through to binoculars and even telescopic viewing.<\/p>\n There are usually a few beautiful conjunctions to see in the night sky \u2013 or early morning sky for that matter \u2013 each month, and below we\u2019ll look at some of the best coming up over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n For more conjunctions and stargazing advice, listen to our Star Diary podcast<\/a>, which reveals what to look out for in the evening and morning skies over the coming weeks.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n You can also sign up to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine newsletter<\/a> for weekly updates on what to see in the night sky.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Generally speaking a \u2018conjunction\u2019 is the name given to two or more celestial objects close together in the night sky.<\/span><\/p>\n The most commonly observed conjunctions involve the Moon, often as a crescent in the evening or morning sky, along with any of the bright planets \u2013 Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more observing guides:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n You can also see conjunctions between the Moon and bright stars or even between the planets themselves, so there is quite a range of possible combinations.<\/span><\/p>\n Some involve more than two objects, such as when two planets are in conjunction and are joined by the Moon.<\/span><\/p>\n There are also times when incredibly close conjunctions set two objects in the same telescope field of view, or in really special cases, show Venus or Mercury transit across the face of the Sun.<\/span><\/p>\n You may already have come across the term in astronomy guides, yet if we went by its strictest definition then some events called conjunctions would probably not qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n To be precise: a conjunction is a line-up of at least two celestial objects in the sky relatively close together that share the same Right Ascension (RA) or ecliptic longitude in the sky.<\/span><\/p>\n Even within astronomy there are different meanings of the word conjunction.<\/p>\n Often a conjunction will occur during daytime or when the objects are below the horizon, and this is where the definition becomes more relaxed.<\/span><\/p>\n If the objects are very bright, such as a crescent Moon and Venus, then daylight viewing can be possible, but if the objects have set below the horizon they won\u2019t be visible.<\/span><\/p>\n So conjunction can be applied in quite a loose context to refer to objects that are viewable above the horizon in twilight<\/a> or at night, even if they are not, at that point, at the exact moment of conjunction.<\/span><\/p>\n Conjunctions really capture our attention, which makes them ideal targets for public stargazing events, or for inspiring young astronomers and newcomers to look up at the night sky.<\/span><\/p>\n They are also easy to capture with a smartphone camera, giving more people the chance to preserve the moment and share with friends or on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n For more on this, read our guide on how to photograph a conjunction<\/a>.<\/p>\n Below we\u2019ll look at some fascinating conjunctions coming up over the next few weeks between the Moon, planets and stars<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In the early evening twilight have a go at a quite tricky encounter as Venus lies close to star cluster M44 and passes it on 2 July and 3 July.<\/p>\n It is highly likely that the cluster won\u2019t be visible in the bright twilight but it\u2019s worth looking for it! Mars lies the other side of the cluster to Venus and a bit further away, so if you don\u2019t spot the cluster then see if you can spot Mars.<\/p>\n In the early onset of morning twilight look over towards the eater-northeast for the crescent Moon lying below the Pleiades star cluster, M45. If you look around 3am onwards you will see them rise and not long afterwards be joined by the Hyades star cluster and Aldebaran, the eye of the Bull.<\/p>\n Mercury moves into the morning sky but is very low in the morning twilight. On 8 July look towards the northeast morning twilight horizon for the crescent Moon with Mercury, roughly 45 minutes before sunrise. Mercury is always brightest at the end of its morning apparition, so it improves before it drops back into the solar glare later in the month.<\/p>\n With Venus and Mars in the evening twilight and Mercury in the morning twilight we find the giant outer planets Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus spread out through the night, giving us a chance to view all in one night!<\/p>\n The slim crescent Moon lies to the right of Venus with Mars to the left of Venus. Then Venus and Mars meet on 12 July for a conjunction where Venus will guide you to the fainter Red Planet for a great visual and photo opportunity. For added interest the slim crescent Moon lies to their upper left.<\/p>\n Requiring at least 7\u00d750 binoculars or larger or a telescope, from 11-18 July Neptune lies close to the star HIP 116402 ,which is mag. +7.2, slightly brighter than mag. +7.8 Neptune.<\/p>\n HIP 116402 is the left hand star of a diamond of stars that Neptune passes through over the next few months and this diamond of stars lies below the Circlet asterism of Pisces.<\/p>\n One for a large telescope now, as Pluto reaches opposition and so is viewable all night. It is magnitude 14.3 so needs a good chart and large telescope indeed! It lies in Sagittarius<\/a> in a quite bland area of sky to the west (right) of M75.<\/p>\n For more info, read our guide on how to observe Pluto<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n See how long you can spot Mars as it drops deeper into the evening twilight, as Venus moves away to the left from it. On 21 July Venus lies above right of the star Regulus. This star is normally an easy naked eye bright star but deep in the twilight is a different story, so the bright planet may be your only chance to spot Regulus before it follows Mars and is lost to view.<\/p>\n The Moon is full on the morning of 24 July but later that evening it still looks \u2018full\u2019 to the naked eye and now lies below left of Saturn as they rise. Look about 11pm towards the southeast and Jupiter will be above the horizon too. Next evening the Moon lies to the lower right of the giant planet.<\/p>\n The last week of May sees the start of Noctilucent Cloud season, so it\u2019s well worth keeping an eye out towards the north for these \u2018Night Shining\u2019 ethereal clouds. For more info, read our guide to Noctilucent Clouds<\/a>.<\/p>\n Paul Money<\/a> is <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine\u2019s<\/strong> Reviews Editor and author of the annual Nightscenes<\/a> guide on what to see in the night sky each month.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Conjunction: what a funny-sounding word it is, yet in the field of astronomy this phenomenon can give us some wondrous night-sky sights, ranging from naked-eye views through to binoculars and even telescopic viewing. There are usually a few beautiful conjunctions to see in the night sky \u2013 or early morning sky for that matter \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Conjunction: what a funny-sounding word it is, yet in the field of astronomy this phenomenon can give us some wondrous night-sky sights, ranging from naked-eye views through to binoculars and even telescopic viewing. There are usually a few beautiful conjunctions to see in the night sky \u2013 or early morning sky for that matter \u2013…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} ![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/04\/Jupiter-Venus-Moon-conjunction-d5631e1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"A")
<\/div>\nWhat is a conjunction in astronomy?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/04\/Conjunction-Moon-Venus-Mars-Spica-c370224-e1606131284982.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C385\" "\\"A")
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Stocktrek Images\/Luis Argerich\/Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/span><\/div>\n\n
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![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/04\/Venus-Moon-Conjunction-10a16b6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C398\" "\\"Tony")
<\/div>\nWhen do conjunctions occur?<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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![\"Moon,](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/Moon-Venus-Jupiter-Mars-2-6-Oct-2015-38a08c4-e1606383922267.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C430\" "\\"Moon,")
<\/div>\nConjunctions to see in the night sky<\/strong><\/h1>\n
1-3 July: Venus and M44<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6 July: Moon and Pleiades<\/strong><\/h2>\n
8 July: Mercury and the Moon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Catch](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/05\/Mercury-moon-July-2021-ac852fb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C415\" "\\"Catch")
<\/div>\n8-20 July: Outer planets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
11-12 July: Venus, Mars and the Moon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Keep](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/05\/Venus-Mars-moon-july-2021-8829429.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C437\" "\\"Keep")
<\/div>\n11-18 July: Neptune<\/strong><\/h2>\n
17 July: Pluto<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Keep](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/05\/Pluto-Opposition-31717fb.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C339\" "\\"Keep")
<\/div>\n21 July: Mars, Venus and Regulus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
24 July: Moon, Jupiter and Saturn<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Noctilucent clouds<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Noctilucent](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/09\/02_PeterLee_NLC2-cf95d25.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Noctilucent")
<\/div>\nMore conjunctions in July 2021<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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