EarthSky.org - 6/2/13, Deborah Byrd
Here are Mercury, Venus and Jupiter as seen on June 1, 2013 from our friend Jean Baptiste Feldmann in France. He wrote, “Les trois planètes alignées ce soir. Quelques secondes plus tard, Jupiter était derrière les arbres !” (The three planets aligned tonight. A few seconds later, Jupiter was behind the trees!)
upiter, Venus and Mercury are all visible in the western sky after sunset in the first few days of June. Jupiter is exceedingly low in the sky, nearly buried in bright twilight, and disappears within the first week of June, only to return before dawn in late July 2013 for a spectacular conjunction with Mars in the predawn sky. For the Northern Hemisphere, June will provide the best evening showing of Mercury for 2013. Better yet, you can use Venus, the sky’s most brilliant planet, to locate nearby Mercury. Meanwhile, Saturn – shines noticeably brightly and highest up for the night around nightfall.
