Watch Tonight: Moon in Rare Conjunction with Jupiter and Venus
Skywatchers, if you missed watching the Crescent Moon aligning with Venus and Jupiter last night, tonight is another chance for you to catch this rare triple conjunction
[A planetary conjunction occurs when two or more celestial objects come very close to each other, looking almost touching. (Image: Cosmos Archive)]
Skywatchers, if you missed watching the Crescent Moon aligning with Venus and Jupiter last night, tonight is another chance for you to catch this rare triple conjunction.
A planetary conjunction occurs when two or more celestial objects come very close to each other, looking almost touching.
The two-day old Crescent Moon aligned with Venus and Jupiter and formed a rare Triple Conjunction yesterday (May 18) and left skygazers around the world stunned. And, images of the same are already going viral on social media, with many coining the nickname "sky smile" or "cosmic smile", for the way the Moon and two planets form a curved, grinning shape.
Moon, Venus and Jupiter Conjunction: Best Time to Watch
The same will be repeated tonight i.e. Tuesday May 19, 2026, and you will be able to see three celestial bodies forming a bright trio that many are calling a "sky smile".
On May 18, the crescent Moon sat closest to Venus. On May 19, it will hang directly between Venus and Jupiter, forming a triangle spanning a wide sweep of sky.
The best time to catch Moon, Venus and Jupiter forming a Triple Conjunction is roughly 30 to 60 minutes after sunset, around 07:00 to 08:00 PM India Standard Time (IST).
Venus and Jupiter are currently the brightest planets visible after sunset. Venus sits low on the western horizon, while Jupiter shines higher up.
But hold on… The Moon, Venus and Jupiter coming close to each other these days are not their closest. The three planets are getting closer and closer together each evening, and will be at their closest together during the Venus–Jupiter conjunction on 9 June 2026, according to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
When Crescent Moon formed smiley face with Venus and Saturn
An equally thrilling planetary aligment of Moon with Venus and Saturn was caught on camera in April last year when the three celestial objects aligned forming a rare 'smiley face'.
Giving details of the rare astral event, NASA reported that Venus, Saturn and Moon on April 25, 2025 formed a triple conjunction, appearing close together in the predawn sky, forming a triangular formation reminiscent of a smiley face.
The two planets acted as the "eyes" of the "smile," with the delicate crescent Moon forming the "mouth", NASA said.
The cosmic pileup seen last April and will be visible tonight is also called a "mini planetary parade".
Skywatchers should also keep in mind that in conjunction, sometimes the planets come so close that they appear almost touching each other like it happened in 2022. In reality, the three bodies are nowhere near each other, and are located thousdands of miles apart in space.
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