Posted July 01, 2015
![avatar](http://images.gog.com/89b2b9ba8d7366c5de8147b537a866271edabef4f86c32e1d00abcc767d0ab5c_avm.jpg)
"All this month the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, have been drawing closer together in the west in the evening twilight — and drawing all eyes toward them. Look west on a clear evening as dusk is fading, and you can't miss them. They're the brightest celestial objects after the Sun and Moon.
At the beginning of June, the two planets were 20° apart in the sky, about twice the width of your fist held at arm's length. Week by week, Jupiter and the stars behind it have gradually slipped lower in the evening twilight. But Venus, due to its rapid orbital motion around the Sun, has stayed high up. The resulting slow-motion convergence is setting the stage for a pair of dramatic sky sights."
"The pairing on June 30th is so tight that a small backyard telescope will show both planets in the same field of view, Venus appearing as a brilliant, fat crescent and Jupiter accompanied by its four largest moons. Telescopically, the two planets will appear nearly the same size — Jupiter, though much larger in reality, is also much farther away. But their globes will contrast dramatically in brightness, with Venus's crescent appearing dazzlingly white compared to Jupiter's duller, striped cloud deck."
Fully visible with the naked eye, and a compact camera should manage an OK photo / give a better view as well - just been out and had a look myself, though my photos didnt turn out very well (a little too much haze to get a clear pic here or I'd have added one).
Further details at the link:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-releases/venus-and-jupiter-june-2015/
*tried making a thread but it kept on the spinning wheel of gogbear