Inspiring Astronomy

Look low west after dark to see Jupiter and Venus in conjunction - 8th/9th & 10th June ⭐️⭐️

Clear western view? Good. Two working eyes? Even better

Just let the two biggest show offs in the night sky do the rest.

On the evening of Thursday the 9th of June 2026 the two brightest planets in our sky, Venus and Jupiter will be putting on a show in a close conjunction in the western sky.

As the Sun sets at 9.45 pm and as dusk starts to fade, you’ll easily spot them at just under 20° above the horizon shining through the June twilight.

Venus will be shining bright at magnitude - 4.0, while Jupiter sits close by at a less bright magnitude -1.9 but still nothing to sniff at.

At their closest they’ll be just 1°36’ apart.

So yes, proper close.

Sky candy close.

Your little finger at arm’s length close.

It’s one of those nights where you can just wander outside, glance up and there they are.

So absolutely anyone can enjoy this sky event.

And that’s what I love about conjunctions like this.

You don’t need a fancy telescope.

You don’t need to know your declinations from your arc seconds.

You just need your eyes, a reasonably clear sky and ideally not a massive great tree or the neighbour’s bungalow in the way.

You’ll have a roughly 2 hour window before the planets get too low, as Venus sets at just after midnight

A clear western view will make all the difference.

If you’ve got hills, rooftops or a big giant conifer in the way you may need to move to a better spot.

The good news is that this isn’t just a one night wonder.

The 8th, 9th and 10th of June will all be worth a look too, because the pair tighten rapidly into the 9th and still look very close on the 10th.

So if the British weather does its usual trick and throws a wet blanket over the sky on the main evening, all is not completely lost.

As we’ve seen through May and now June, the light summer evenings definitely belong to Venus and Jupiter.

The solar system’s biggest planet, and Earth’s evil twin 😈

Two bright worlds.

One gassy

One rocky

Low in the west.

Close enough together on the 9th of June to make even non astro people stop and say “Hey what are those?”

And close enough to maybe even give you a good photo opportunity

So if you get a clear sky around 8th to 10th June, get outside after sunset and look west.

Because even in this bright summer twilight when proper darkness is tough to pin down, the solar system can still come up with the goods.

And this is one of those moments.

A brief one.

But one certainly worth catching.

Quick Summary:

▪️Venus/Jupiter closest conjunction - 9th June after sunset
▪️Look west
▪️Planets set below horizon at around midnight
▪️Closest seperation 1°36’
▪️8th and 10th June planets still very close together

Hopefully the weather stays clear, and feel free to post your experiences and photos below.

Clear skies ⭐️⭐️

The Summer Sky’s Hidden Secret

On clear evenings between late May and early August, when the sky is that deep twilight blue, look towards the northern sky about an hour or so after sunset.

You might spot weird looking glowing silvery blue clouds of you’re lucky.

These are noctilucent clouds, also called night shining clouds, or space clouds.

They’re quite rare and elusive.

And they’re nothing like your usual run of the mill fluffy white clouds.

They form around 50 miles up, near the edge of space, and glow because the Sun is still lighting them up from below the horizon.

They look like ripples, waves, silver threads, or shimmering silk.

They’re ice crystals that form at around -90 degrees C in the upper atmosphere.

Very beautiful.

Very strange.

Very worth looking outside for on these warm summer nights.

You might think these lighter nights heading towards the summer solstice don’t have much to offer.

But you’d be wrong.

Summer doesn’t have the dark star studded skies, Orion and frozen fingers.

But it does have mysterious, glowing and ethereal noctilucent clouds.

👀 Where to look - The northern sky

📆 When - Between late May and early August

🕥 What time - About an hour to hour and half after sunset

The first time I photographed this strange green glow in the night sky I didn’t know what it was.

Was there something wrong with my camera?

Wrong white balance?

Sensor issue?

Aliens?

Because surely the night sky isn’t supposed to glow green like that?

Turns out… it absolutely can.

What you’re seeing here isn’t light pollution.

And no it’s not aurora.

It’s something called air glow.

A natural phenomenon caused by atoms and molecules high in Earth’s atmosphere releasing energy after being excited by sunlight during the day.

One of the most common colours is green, produced mainly by oxygen atoms at around 56 miles up.

It’s faint to our eyes, but under genuinely dark skies and with camera exposures of a few seconds or so, the camera reveals it beautifully.

And this is why dark skies matter.

When you remove excessive artificial light, the night sky starts revealing layer upon layer of detail and subtle phenomena most people never realise exists.

On this late September night over a reservoir in North Wales, the Milky Way was rising beside this soft natural green glow reflected in the water.

Moments like this make you realise just how much of the night most people have lost to light pollution.

It turns out the night sky is actually full of surprising hidden beauty.

Location: Aled Isaf Reservoir, North Wales 🌌

Photo: John Brady

Beautiful Venus and Crescent Moon Pairing Coming Up ⭐️🌙

There’s often that moment when you step outside after sunset, look up… and suddenly something stop in your tracks.

Well on Monday evening the 18th of May there’s a nice little sky scene worth looking out for if the clouds stay away ✨

Shortly after sunset, look towards the north west where the glow of the Sun is fading.

You’ll easily spot Venus first.

Right now it’s blazing brilliantly in the evening sky at magnitude - 4.0, so impossible to miss.

Then just to the right of Venus sits a delicate 2 day old crescent Moon at just over 3 degrees away.

A delicate sickle against the deepening blue.

And higher up to their left, Jupiter shines brightly too.

(Jupiter and Venus are gradually moving towards each other for a slow close embrace on June 9th)

The quiet choreography of the solar system playing out above our heads.

And if the air is clear, you may even notice earthshine on the Moon. That faint ghostly glow lighting up the dark part of the lunar surface.

It almost gives the Moon a 3D appearance.

Venus and the crescent Moon will remain together right through the evening until around midnight when they sink below the horizon.

And if Monday turns out cloudy or of you miss it, then Tuesday 19th still offers another nice sight. With the 3 day old crescent Moon sitting between Venus and Jupiter after dark.

Sometimes the simplest sky moments are the most memorable and most photo worthy.

Here’s a quick summary 👇

▪️Monday 18th MayVenus beside the crescent Moon after sunset.

▪️Tuesday 19th MayThe crescent Moon sits between Venus and Jupiter.

If skies are clear… look up 🌌

Clear skies to you ⭐️🌙

(Image - View NW at 10.30 pm, Mon 18th May)

The Spring Milky Way from North Wales 🌌

The Milky Way during springtime from the UK isn’t quite at its best, or most convenient for viewing.

In fact, it’s a bit awkward.

If you want to catch the brighter parts of the Galaxy at this time of year, you have to be willing to do battle with tired eyes, late nights and early mornings.

But if you’re dedicated enough, part of the Milky Way core and the rich star cloud regions through Scutum, Aquila and Cygnus do dramatically rise in the south east during the early morning hours 🕜

And it’s absolutely worth the effort under dark skies.

But the window is closing.

As we move through mid to late May, true astronomical darkness starts to slip away from us here in the UK.

The nights don’t get properly dark for long, and eventually around midsummer we’re left with only a lingering twilight glow rather than real darkness.

Fantastic for evening walks.

Not so fantastic if you’re trying to photograph faint star clouds in a diminishing window.

Over the bank holiday I camped in one of my favourite places, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Or more specifically, North Wales.

Or even more specifically, a campsite on the edge of Llynnau Mymbyr.

Llynnau Mymbyr is actually two lakes separated by a narrow channel, lying between Capel Curig and Yr Wyddfa and better known to many as Mount Snowdon.

It’s one of those places where the landscape already feels dramatic in daylight.

Mountains, water, changing light, trees, open sky.

But at night when the stars start appearing above the black outline of the peaks, it becomes something else entirely.

At around 11.30 pm I exited my tent, wandered down to the water’s edge and set up my camera.

Fold out chair deployed, binoculars at the ready.

The plan was simple enough.

Capture the faint Milky Way rising over the trees, including the rich star cloud regions and part of the Milky Way core if I could tease it out.

Simple on paper.

But I knew my old nemesis was lurking nearby.

The nearly full Moon.

Yes, Old Crater Face himself was hiding just below the horizon waiting to rise and throw a big bright wet blanket over my plans.

So I did what any perfectly normal person would do at around midnight beside a lake in Wales.

I used a mountain as a Moon shield.

.. it sounds far more dramatic than it actually was !

Majestic Moel Siabod stood across the water between me and the Moon, blocking the worst of the glare for a while.

That should keep old crater face in check, I thought.

For now.

This time of year (at the time of writing) from May onwards, is a bit of a race against time.

Real astronomical darkness is slowly being pulled away, arriving later and later each evening, until by midsummer it almost disappears completely for much of the UK.

So when you get a clear night, a dark location and at least a fighting chance against the Moon... you take it.

Back at Llynnau Mymbyr, I did manage to capture this shot of the faint Milky Way over the trees, doing its best while battling against the light of the rising Moon.

And even with Moel Siabod standing guard, the Moon’s influence was strong.

That’s the thing with dark skies. You notice everything.

A bright Moon under a light polluted town sky is just… a bright Moon.

But under properly dark skies, even before it fully rises its glow begins to change the whole character of the night.

The contrast drops. The faint stars fade back. The Milky Way loses some of its punch.

It’s beautiful, of course.

But when you’re trying to photograph the Galaxy, the Moon can be a right pain in the eyepiece.

But I'm really pleased with this shot.

The rich Cygnus region is there in the centre, densely packed with star clouds.

You can also see the Great Rift, a huge dark lane of dust snaking its way through the glowing band of the Galaxy.

It looks like a tear in the stars.

But it’s actually vast clouds of interstellar dust blocking the light of millions of distant suns behind it.

Near the right edge of the photo is part of the Milky Way core too, faint but visible.

Not the blazing view we get later in the season, but a quiet early glimpse of what’s coming.

Further over towards the south west, I also captured the night sky above the lake and mountain.

That view had a different feeling entirely.

Less about the Milky Way itself, and more about the place.

Still water.

Dark mountain shapes.

A sky slowly changing as the Moon began to take control.

There’s something special about standing alone beside a lake at night with a camera imaging away.

Listening to the tiny sounds around you and knowing that above those Welsh mountains, our Galaxy is rising.

Even if it’s faint.

Even if the Moon is causing trouble.

I don’t really want to wish my life away, but roll on late summer and autumn.

That’s when the Milky Way is at its absolute best from the UK.

By then the nights are darker again, the bright central regions of the Galaxy are better placed and the whole band stands almost upright in the sky.

Under dark skies, once your eyes adjust it’s a spectacular sight.

A river of starlight and dark dust lanes stretching over the landscape.

And for astrophotography it’s one of the finest sights we get.

But even in spring, even with the Moon muscling in, even when the timing is awkward there’s still something magical about catching this early glimpse of the Milky Way from a place like North Wales.

You just have to be willing to lose a bit of sleep for it.

But that’s usually when the best memories happen.

Keep looking up 🙄

The Moon is hanging out with Jupiter tonight, take a look ⭐️🌙

Beautiful crescent Moon & Venus right now, take a look 👀

It’s the Lyrids in April 2026 ☄️

You step outside late evening on the 22nd of April.

You look up into the dark and wonder if this night is going to give you something special…

Or whether you’re just standing there staring into infinity while your neighbours wonder what you’re doing.

But this night has potential.

Because above you, the Lyrids meteor shower is returning. One of the oldest known meteor showers still observed today with records stretching back to 687 BCE.

What you’re hoping to catch are small grains of dust left behind by Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher).

They can produce 10 - 20 bright meteors per hour, and if you’re lucky an occasional fireball.

Where to look 👀

The Lyrids will seem to come from the constellation of Lyra in the north east or east near the bright star Vega.

But you don’t need to stare at it like it owes you money.

No

In fact, you’ll often catch the best meteors by looking about 40 to 60 degrees away from the radiant, where those longer tails can really show off.

When to watch 🕰️

This year from the UK conditions are actually not bad.

The peak falls on the 22nd of April, but the best time to watch is the late night of the 22nd, and even better into the pre dawn hours of the 23rd.

That’s your ideal window.

The Moon is a 5 day old waxing crescent this year, with bright Jupiter as its close companion for the night.

The gas giant and the Moon will be just 2 to 3 degrees apart, giving a nice distraction.

The Moon sinks lower into the northwest as the night goes on, setting at 3.15 am. So it shouldn’t cause you much trouble, especially if you position yourself so it’s blocked out by a hill or something.

A reality check

Now, let’s keep our expectations sensible.

And brace yourselves for social media being overrun with “See the Lyrids LIGHT UP THE SKY” and “A Celestial Fireworks Display”.

We both know it’s not really like that.

You will hear figures like 18 meteors an hour under ideal conditions. Yes but that’s under genuinely dark skies, with the radiant nice and high, and watching continuously.

Real life in Britain though is usually a bit more, er… British!

A bit of stubborn cloud.

A bit of light pollution.

A bit of standing there saying “I think I might have just missed one.”

So no, it’s not likely to be a full on meteor storm.

But that doesn’t matter.

Because meteor showers like this are not really about chasing numbers.

They’re about the experience.

This is the real magic 🪄

It’s about you maybe sitting back in a chair and watching the skies, and maybe being wrapped up like it’s midwinter because these spring nights sometimes have a sense of humour.

It’s really about being patient.

It’s about letting your eyes adjust for about 20 minutes, and resisting the urge to keep checking your phone every five seconds.

And then it happens.

Out of nowhere a bright meteor tears across the sky.

A feeling of magic, and for a few seconds the whole night comes alive.

And suddenly it was worth it.

The cold.

The uncertainty.

The funny looks from the neighbours.

All of it.

That’s the magic of meteor showers.

They make you work for it, and earn that moment a little bit.

How to give yourself the best chance ✨

So if skies are clear head out late on the 22nd and stay with it into the early hours of the 23rd if you can.

Yes, yes I know it’s Wednesday night into Thursday morning, but the solar system refuses to let you book in a meteor shower for 9pm on a Friday night.

Believe me I’ve tried.

Anyway …

Find somewhere as dark as you can.

Even moving to the outskirts of a town can make a difference.

Don’t bring binoculars.

Don’t bring a telescope.

For this, your unaided eyes are your best equipment.

Just bring warm clothes, patience and a willingness to stand beneath the night sky and see what it has in store.

Because if luck is on your side, you won’t just watch the Lyrids this year.

You’ll meet them.

Wishing you clear skies, and if you head out for the Lyrids let me know below if you manage to catch any meteors ☄️