Venus is slowly emerging from the Sun’s glare at the moment, while Jupiter is heading into it, on course for superior conjunction on 29 July 2026.
At that time, Jupiter will line up with the Sun as it makes the transition from evening to morning sky.
However, before we lose sight of the beautiful gas giant, Venus and Jupiter are set to put on a rather special evening show.
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The Venus-Jupiter conjunction of 9 June 2026 will see the two planets appear just 1.6° apart, but the timing means that the run-up to that conjunction will give you the best views and the best chance to capture a striking photograph of the pair.
Here we’ll help you plan that shot.
Venus, Jupiter and brightening skies
You’ve no doubt realised that the June solstice is just around the corner.
The nights are getting shorter and, come the end of May, true darkness will be just a memory for most of the UK, the Sun no longer dipping far enough below the horizon to allow this to happen.
Evening twilight is prolonged too, the sky staying very light for ages after sunset.
This is caused by the shallow angle at which the Sun sets beneath the northwestern horizon. Once it’s gone, it remains not too far below that line for a long time, hence the extended twilight.
This is normally bad news for astronomical objects in the twilight zone, as the bright sky swamps them out, but Jupiter and Venus will be so intense that they’ll stand out clearly even under these conditions.
Having said this, Jupiter’s steady creep westwards and the Sun’s position throughout May mean that its altitude after sunset is decreasing.
As a result, it’s appearing closer to the horizon against ever-brightening skies as we approach the solstice.
This is why now is the ideal time to catch it and Venus together.
Compose the scene
In general, photographing two bright planets near one another in the sky doesn’t lead to the most exciting of photographs – they often just look like two small, bright dots.
To spice things up, consider your foreground. A shot of the closing pair against the Eiffel Tower would be amazing, but assuming you’re unable to travel to Paris, there are plenty of alternatives.
As with all photography, a little research and planning can lead to some spectacular compositions. It’s a great opportunity to get creative!
Then, of course, there’s how you plan to present your results.
While two dots above a plain horizon can look a bit lacklustre to a non-astronomer, if you capture the pair over several nights with your camera set up in the same spot each time, you can combine the shots to show how both planets move relative to one another over time, upping the interest level.
Creating such a composite when the protagonists are moving at high altitude in a dark sky is relatively straightforward.
Doing it for objects close to the horizon and placed against bright twilight is a completely different matter.
As with the shot’s composition, it will take a lot of careful planning and consideration.
Assuming the weather plays ball throughout May and into early June, this will be a great photographic project, with the potential to create a really impactful end result.
Equipment
- Camera
- Tripod
- Remote shutter release
Photographing Venus and Jupiter, step-by-step
Step 1
Location is important. Choose somewhere with a reasonably flat view towards the northwest horizon. If you’re prepared to travel, look for local landmarks to be a foreground subject. Think about how these look under bright twilight. Don’t forget: the foreground shouldn’t block the planets from view!
Step 2
How long will you be imaging for and at what time? Use a planetarium app to make sure the planets are still above the horizon at your chosen time and for the entire date range. It’s important to pick a time when the sky will be dark enough every evening, but at which the planets maintain a reasonable altitude too.
Step 3
Once you’ve selected your ‘prime time’ to shoot the scene, plan for a few additional shots, say 15 minutes either side of this time. Conditions may not be favourable for these extra slots, but they’ll give you more to work with and provide valuable reference information for future endeavours. Make a note of your plans and stick to them.
Step 4
Use a planetarium app to work out the maximum altitude and azimuth offsets of the planets over your chosen dates. If your app doesn’t show angles, estimate using star separations: for example, Castor-Pollux spans 4.5°, while Castor-Capella is 30°. Choose a lens that covers the maximum area plus a little extra.
Step 5
On the first evening, take a test shot at around f/11, ISO 1600 and 2.5 seconds. Conditions, timing and equipment vary, so expect to adjust: tweak the exposure until the planets are clear, and bracket a few shots. Check the results and note the best settings. Reuse these settings over subsequent evenings.
Step 6
A single image works well, but you can also combine images from different dates. Add each evening’s shot in a separate layer in a layer-based image editor; align the horizons and set the blend mode to ‘Lighten’. Darken the sky in the upper layers so that only the planets show up when you combine the images.
Share your best images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
