What is a planetary conjunction?

When two planets appear close together in the sky from Earth's viewpoint. They remain hundreds of millions of kilometres apart in space and simply line up along our sight line. Formally it's the moment two bodies share the same celestial longitude.

When is the next close planetary conjunction?

Notable tight pairings include Venus and Mars on 8 January 2026 at 0.05 degrees, Mars and Saturn on 20 April 2026 at 0.04 degrees, Mercury and Venus on 7 October 2026 at 0.01 degrees, and Venus and Mars on 25 November 2027 at 0.03 degrees.

How close do planets get during a conjunction?

Visually they can come within a hundredth of a degree, which is a fiftieth of the full Moon's apparent width, close enough to look like a single object to the naked eye. In space they remain hundreds of millions of kilometres apart.

What is a great conjunction?

A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which occurs roughly every twenty years because both planets move slowly and it takes that long for the faster to lap the slower. They were historically treated as marking major historical shifts.

Planetary conjunctions coming this year

Computed, not copied. Several this cycle come within a fifth of the Moon's width.

4 min read · Published 24 August 2026

Before the detail

A conjunction is two planets appearing close together from Earth while sitting hundreds of millions of kilometres apart in space. The tightest in this period are Mercury and Venus on 7 October 2026 at 0.01 degrees, Venus and Mars on 25 November 2027 at 0.03 degrees, and Mars with Saturn on 20 April 2026 at 0.04 degrees. For scale, the full Moon is about 0.5 degrees across.

The close conjunctions of 2026 and 2027

Date	Pair	Separation
8 January 2026	Venus – Mars	0.05°
18 January 2026	Mercury – Mars	0.28°
29 January 2026	Mercury – Venus	0.21°
9 March 2026	Venus – Saturn	0.49°
20 April 2026	Mars – Saturn	0.04°
21 April 2026	Mercury – Mars	0.08°
10 June 2026	Venus – Jupiter	0.16°
7 October 2026	Mercury – Venus	0.01°
16 November 2026	Mars – Jupiter	0.10°
8 May 2027	Venus – Saturn	0.24°
20 August 2027	Mercury – Jupiter	0.08°
26 August 2027	Venus – Jupiter	0.13°
25 November 2027	Venus – Mars	0.03°

Separations computed with astronomy-engine; all under half a degree

For scale: the full Moon spans about 0.5 degrees. A conjunction at 0.05 degrees puts two planets a tenth of a Moon-width apart, close enough to appear as a single object to the naked eye, and spectacular in binoculars.

The Mercury pairings are the hardest to catch. Mercury never strays far from the Sun, so those conjunctions occur in twilight low to the horizon and need a clear, unobstructed view.

What a conjunction is

Two planets appearing close together from our viewpoint. They aren't close to each other.

During the Venus–Jupiter conjunction of June 2026, the two will look a sixth of a Moon-width apart while sitting hundreds of millions of kilometres apart. Venus is an inner planet a short hop away. Jupiter is far beyond the asteroid belt. They line up along our sight line and nothing more.

Technically, a conjunction is the moment two bodies share the same celestial longitude. That's measured along one coordinate only, so the closest visual approach can fall a few hours either side of the formal moment. For observing, the evening either side works fine.

Astrology makes far too much of conjunctions. Two planets near each other in our sky are still a hundred million kilometres apart.

How to watch one

Check which twilight. Conjunctions involving Mercury or Venus are near the Sun, so they appear in evening or morning twilight and are gone within an hour or two.
Find a clear low horizon in the right direction. This is what counts more than darkness. A hedge or building will simply block it.
Start a few days early. The planets close in visibly night by night, and watching the approach is more interesting than the single peak evening.
Use binoculars. A tight conjunction in binoculars is one of the beautiful sights available with cheap equipment, particularly Venus–Jupiter where you also see Jupiter's moons.
Photograph it. Conjunctions are among the easiest astronomical targets for a phone, since both objects are bright, see phone astrophotography.

Occultations, the extreme case

Occasionally one body passes directly in front of another. The Moon occults stars and planets regularly, and it is a striking thing to watch: a star vanishes instantly at the Moon's edge, with no fading, because the Moon has no atmosphere to dim it gradually.

Planet-occulting-planet events are extremely rare, occurring only a handful of times per century.

A solar eclipse is technically an occultation of the Sun by the Moon, and a lunar eclipse isn't an occultation at all. It's the Moon entering Earth's shadow.

What astrology makes of them

Conjunctions are among the most-cited aspects in astrology, read as a blending or intensification of two planetary meanings. The great conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn were historically treated as marking major historical shifts.

As with everything else, the astronomy is exact and the interpretation is a tradition. The distinction set out in is astrology real or fake. AsterNym computes aspect angles and orbs on your natal chart and labels which is which.

Whatever you make of the meaning, a conjunction needs going outside for. Two planets a hundredth of a degree apart is a uncommon sight.

Questions people ask

What is a planetary conjunction?: When two planets appear close together in the sky from Earth's viewpoint. They remain hundreds of millions of kilometres apart in space and simply line up along our sight line. Formally it's the moment two bodies share the same celestial longitude.
When is the next close planetary conjunction?: Notable tight pairings include Venus and Mars on 8 January 2026 at 0.05 degrees, Mars and Saturn on 20 April 2026 at 0.04 degrees, Mercury and Venus on 7 October 2026 at 0.01 degrees, and Venus and Mars on 25 November 2027 at 0.03 degrees.
How close do planets get during a conjunction?: Visually they can come within a hundredth of a degree, which is a fiftieth of the full Moon's apparent width, close enough to look like a single object to the naked eye. In space they remain hundreds of millions of kilometres apart.
What is a great conjunction?: A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which occurs roughly every twenty years because both planets move slowly and it takes that long for the faster to lap the slower. They were historically treated as marking major historical shifts.