It’s a Ramadan end treat when the two naked-eye planets appear stunningly close next to each other or astronomically known as conjunction.

“Morning Star” Venus will appear 0.2° next to the gas giant Jupiter, which is a very close encounter at pre-dawn hours on Sunday, May 1.

If the sky is clear, it will be visible to the naked eye, and observers will see them merge into one super bright glare in the sky. Use our live sky chart to determine the position of the planet in our sky here.

You can enjoy the spectacle with an ordinary pair of binocular or a small telescope as both worlds will fit within the field of view.

In fact, in a century (from 2001 until 2099), there are only 22 events of which the bright celestial duo pass within 0.5°, which is less than the angular diameter of the Moon in the sky. However, since Venus is positioned close to the Sun, conjunction occurrences involving this planet most of time happen during daylight which are less favorable.

The next Venus-Jupiter to get this close again will be on November 02, 2039.

Updated Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Two of the gaseous giants, Saturn and Jupiter, continue to pass each other in the evening sky this week. The angular separation of the planets will steadily increase in the next few days, and both of the planets will hang just above the western horizon in the twilight sky.

Today the sky was pretty clear to catch the post great conjunction moment from Brunei Darussalam Live stream video of the cosmic event can be found www.bruneiastronomy.org/youtube

Monday, December 21, 2020: The Great Conjunction

It was a cloudy day in most areas of Brunei Darussalam. Unfortunately, clouds has blocked skywatchers’ from viewing the celestial phenomenon in Brunei.

The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam conducted the planetary alignment at 3 observation sites – Keriam, Pantai Jerudong & Penaga. Live streaming of the event can be found here www.bruneiastronomy.org/youtube The Great Conjunction was only visible momentarily by the members of PABD from Jerudong Beach:

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Despite being cloudy, the celestial trio – Jupiter, Saturn and the crescent moon – offered a spectacular sight in the twilight sky just now, December 17, 2020.

The planetary pair is easier to see with the naked eye and they are already closer together.

Another 3 days to go for the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Hopefully, the Brunei weather will cooperate in the next few days.

In the next few days, Jupiter and Saturn will get super close in a rare celestial alignment of the Great Planetary Conjunction which has not occurred since 1623 and will be viewable from Brunei Darussalam.

Live streaming of the Great Conjunctions from Brunei Darussalam:
www.bruneiastronomy.org/youtube
www.facebook.com/bruneiastronomy

Jupiter & Saturn meet in the sky: The orbital mechanics of alignment Jupiter and Saturn occur about 20 years apart. But this year, the Great Conjunction of the two planets is about 0.1° separation.

It is so rare that both gas giant planets can be seen in the field of view of a telescope and binoculars. Previously alike astronomical  occurrence happened on July 16, 1623. The next one will be on March 15, 2080.

Some updates of the astronomical event from Brunei:

You can share your pictures of the conjunction by posting it on your social media with #bruneiastronomy or send them via Telegram apps t.me/bruneiastronomy

Monday, December 14, 2020

The planets are currently visible to the unaided eye and appear very close in the western sky after sunset. Amazingly, Saturn’s and Jupiter’s largest moons are also visible in the same field of view with the aid of a telescope.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

Bandar Seri Begawan – On the early mornings of October 2, 3 and 4, brilliant Venus and the bright star Regulus will appear near one another in the east before sunrise. Venus will appear about a degree above Regulus on October 2, and below Regulus on October 4. The amazing duo should appear in the same field of view in binoculars.

Their conjunction will come on Saturday, October 3, at 7:35 am at which time Venus will pass a close by 0.09 degree south of Regulus. That’s very close encounter! At the moment of the smallest separation, the objects are not visible due to sun glare.

You can catch the spectacular astronomical conjunction at 5 a.m. Saturday, October 03, 2020, when their separation is 0.1° from Brunei Darussalam that won’t happen again for another 8 years (in early October 2028, 2036 and 2044).

Join our Brunei astronomy community discussion and share your cosmic conjunction photos via Telegram t.me/bruneiastronomy or WhatsApp bruneiastronomy.org/wa

[Note: 1 degree is about the width of your little finger held at arm’s length]

The Pleiades (M45) is the most famous of all open cluster and very rich with more than 1000 stars. At least 7 prominent stars in the cluster are easily visible, hence this jewel is nicknamed as the “Seven Sisters”.

The rare spectacular conjunction will be visible either to the naked eyes or best view with a small telescope/binoculars. A great moment to photograph too! Look west just after sunset, and see for yourself.

Venus passes through the Pleiades in this way about once every 8 years. According to EarthSky, “the last good opportunity of similar celestial pairing happened on April 3, 2012, and next will take place on April 4, 2028.”

Clear skies!

The largest planet Jupiter with its four Jovian moons and the red planet Mars visibly fit in the same FOV of a small telescope (about 0.7° separation).

These photos of planetary conjunction were taken by Hazarry from Kampong Keriam.

Bandar Seri Begawan – These are some of exciting and not to be missed cosmic events visible in Brunei to look up next week.

March 18 until March 20, 2020: Three bright planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn- will join the crescent moon to form a cosmic cluster in the Eastern sky at dawn from Brunei Darussalam.

Friday and Saturday dawn (March 19 and 20): Mars and the gas giant Jupiter will be in close conjunction when both planets are less than 1° apart. They are very close enough (0.7 degree separation) to both fit into the same field of view with a telescope or binocular.

Friday, March 20, 2020: The earliest vernal equinox is at 11:51 am since 1896. It occurs when the sun passes directly over the equator and day and night have the same length.

Hopefully, weather will cooperate for this cosmic conjunction.

UPDATE: June 30, 2015. Some photos of the event.

Update April 12, 2015: Another change to view a celestial conjunction of Venus and Pleiades today. Clear sky!

The brilliance of Venus and a beautiful set of “Seven Sisters” star cluster (the Pleiades) are visible very close to each other from Pantai Seri Kenangan, Tutong, at dusk today.

UniverseToday.com stated that “Every 8 years on mid-April evenings, Venus skirts the Pleiades just as it’s doing this week. Think back to April 2007 and you might remember a similar passage; a repeat will happen in April 2023. Venus’ cyclical visits to the Seven Sisters occur because the planet’s motion relative to the Sun repeats every 8 years as seen from Earth’s skies. No matter where and when you see Venus – morning or evening, high or low – you’ll see it in nearly the same place 8 years from that date.”

The spectacular close conjunction will be observable to the naked eyes until next week (April 17). Look west after sunset and clear skies!!

Bandar Seri Begawan – Look west in twilight on February 20 and 21 as two planets, Venus and  Mars, appear close one another in the sky and will be accompanied by the thin moon crescent. The celestial phenomena  known as conjunctions occur when celestial bodies have the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude as seen from the Earth. While it would be very low in the twilight sky, it might be an interesting photo opportunity.  Venus will be shining bright in the west after sunset and sky gazers can locate Mars as they are separated within 1 degree apart. If the weather cooperates, it could be a spectacular image.