Jupiter and Venus converge for the first time in 2000 years

Star of Bethlehem? Jupiter and Venus converge for the first time in 2000 years

Jupiter and Venus will merge into a dazzling “super-star” in the Western horizon by the end of June, NASA says. The conjunction of the two planets has been building during the month of June and will culminate in a spectacular display on June 30. “Every night in June, the separation between Venus and Jupiter will visibly shrink,” says NASA. A conjunction is when two or more objects appear very close together on the sky.

On the evening of June 30, Venus and Jupiter will appear in the sky just a third of a degree apart. “That’s less than the diameter of a full Moon. You’ll be able to hide the pair not just behind the palm of your outstretched hand, but behind your little pinky finger,” NASA enthuses.Sky & Telescope suggests that a similar rare conjunction of Venus and Jupiter may have been what’s been called the “Star of Bethlehem” in 3-2 BC. There has not been a brighter, closer planetary conjunction in the 2,000 years since. FULL REPORT