Griffith Observatory to Post June 18 Video of 1-Hour Venus Occultation

Q: After Venus reappears, what other rare planetary sights can be seen this month?

After Venus reappears from behind the Moon on June 17, the month still offers several notable planetary views, though most of the rarest headline events come before or on that date. Later on June 17, the Moon moves across the Beehive Cluster in Cancer, with Venus nearby after sunset. On June 18 and 19, Venus remains very close to the cluster, creating an especially attractive binocular pairing. Also on the evening of June 17, Callisto, one of Jupiter’s major moons, is due to be occulted by Jupiter’s disk, a more specialized telescopic event. Beyond that, June 20 brings a compact western-sky lineup, with Venus, Jupiter and Mercury arranged in a short span after sunset. Near month’s end, Mars becomes the focus: on June 27 it appears close to the Pleiades star cluster, and on June 30 Mars and Uranus form a conjunction in Taurus, with Uranus sitting about 2.5 degrees east of Mars. The broader context is that the month’s standout rare planetary sights were concentrated earlier: the Venus-Jupiter conjunction around June 9, the brief “mini parade” of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in mid-June, and Mercury’s June 14 greatest eastern elongation. After the Venus occultation, the best remaining planetary sights are the Venus-Beehive pairing, the June 20 lineup, and the late-June Mars-Uranus conjunction.

Q: How can you safely watch Venus vanish behind the Moon during the day tomorrow?

The safest way to watch it is not to look for it directly with your own optics unless you are an experienced observer; instead, follow professional coverage from observatories or astronomy livestreams. Griffith Observatory is recording the event with its telescopes and will post video and commentary on YouTube on June 18, though it is not opening for public viewing during the occultation itself. If you do try to observe it live, use extreme caution. This is a daytime event, and binoculars or a telescope can cause permanent eye damage if they are pointed at or even swept near the Sun. Venus and the Moon will be visible in daylight, but the challenge is locating them safely. Never use optics near the Sun without proper certified solar equipment and a clear understanding of what you are doing. For experienced skywatchers, the safest practical method is to locate the thin crescent Moon first, ideally from a shaded spot that blocks the Sun from your field of view, then look for Venus close to it. Exact disappearance and reappearance times vary by city, so check the International Occultation Timing Association’s timetable and convert from Universal Time to your local zone. For most people, the better option is to skip direct daytime viewing and watch the recorded or livestreamed coverage. If you miss it, Venus will still be easy to spot after sunset near the Moon, offering a much safer and simpler view.

3 articles · Updated · NBC Los Angeles · Jun 16

June 18 is when Griffith Observatory plans to release YouTube video and commentary of the June 17 Venus occultation, when Venus will vanish behind the Moon and reappear a little more than an hour later.
Noon Pacific timing and the event's viewing conditions will make the occultation difficult for most people to see directly, so the observatory's telescopes will record it instead.
Public viewing will not be offered during the June 17 event, even though the observatory is open on Wednesdays and the telescopes used for the recording will not be available to visitors.
June 20 will bring a separate free Public Star Party on the observatory lawn, where visitors can use telescopes and ask astronomers about other visible sky objects.