A teenager from Campo Grande turned his back on his cell phone screens and recorded one of the most beautiful encounters in the sky of 2026. José Guilherme dos Santos Camargo, 16, captured the conjunction between Venus and Jupiter, visible to the naked eye just after sunset on the western horizon of the Capital.
The photos show the two planets shining close to each other, creating a natural spectacle that attracts observers in several regions of Brazil. Although they seem glued together in the sky, the stars are separated by hundreds of millions of kilometers in space. The phenomenon, called planetary conjunction, happens when celestial bodies align from Earth’s perspective.
Visibility favors those looking west in the first few minutes of the night. Experts indicate that the pair will remain observable until July 1st, with the moment of closest approximation recorded between June 8th and 9th. This is one of the most favorable conjunctions of the year for the southern hemisphere, surpassing in brightness and position many typical alignments that occur before dawn.
Guilherme actively participates in the Carl Sagan Astronomy Club, at UFMS, where he works as a monitor. He assists in public observations, operates equipment and gives lectures to bring scientific knowledge to the population. The club, founded in 2007, promotes free activities and already holds regular events on campus and in schools.
The young man’s interest began around the age of 9 and gained strength in 2022, during a comet observation promoted by the group at Parque das Nações Indígenas. Since then, he has attended the club, acquired a telescope in 2023 and records the sky both with professional equipment and with his own cell phone.
In addition to the photos, Guilherme shares his work on his profile @gui_astronomy on social media. For him, promoting astronomy goes beyond just a hobby: it is a way of combating misinformation and democratizing access to knowledge in a country with great potential for celestial observation.
A second-year high school student, the student plans to study Aerospace Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). He intends to keep astronomy as a permanent activity, combining a scientific career with the passion that has accompanied him since childhood.
