Venus and Jupiter are heading for a spectacular celestial rendezvous on Tuesday, June 30. As they move toward this outstanding conjunction, Jupiter currently may be seen to the upper left of the very bright Venus, with the pair about 10 degrees above the western horizon, at roughly an hour and 45 minutes after sunset.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the crescent Moon will join the pair as it slides past them night by night.

On Friday night, the crescent Moon appears nearly directly below Venus, but quite close to the horizon. Depending on your view of the horizon, the moon may be difficult to see. However, on Saturday and Sunday evenings the Moon will be well above the horizon and easily seen. The view should be beautiful. The Moon will sit alongside Venus and Jupiter on Saturday night and above and to the left of the planets on Sunday.

And, by the way, the star to the upper left of, and on a line with the planets, is Regulus, in the constellation Leo.

Note: We'll update on the conjunction taking place on the 30th. Also, note that the 10 degrees referenced above is a bit more than the spread across your knuckles on one hand, held at arms length.

Of course, we'll need clear skies to see these nighttime views.

Fingers crossed.