Sky Briefing #008 — Four Planets at Dusk and Three Aviation Firsts
Tonight, about 35 minutes after sunset, look west: a thin crescent moon, Venus blazing at –4 magnitude, Jupiter just above it, Mercury barely clearing the horizon. Four objects, one window frame, no filter required. During daylight, the Moon briefly occulted Venus over North America — rare enough to mention. Meanwhile: Riyadh Air is one week old, and Air Canada just sent a narrowbody with lie-flat seats across the Atlantic for the first time.
Skies
Crescent moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury — tonight, all together in the west-northwest. About 35 minutes after sunset, the crescent Moon (12% illuminated), Venus (–4.0 mag), Jupiter (–1.8 mag), and Mercury all appear together in the west-northwest. All four fit inside one window frame. During daylight, the Moon occulted Venus across North America — an occultation in a bright daytime sky is genuinely uncommon. If you are on a westbound flight tonight: cabin lights off. When the Curves Line Up — Venus occultation and planet parade on June 17
Night flights to Tromsø this week are not actually night flights. The summer solstice is June 21. North of the Arctic Circle (66.5°N), the sun does not set at all — not even at 01:00 UTC. Flying to Tromsø (TOS), Bodø, or Longyearbyen this week: cabin lights off, look toward the horizon. The low amber glow stays there the entire “night.” EarthSky — Summer Solstice 2026
Aviation
Riyadh Air is one week old and already flying daily to London Heathrow. On June 10 — three weeks ahead of schedule — RX401 became the first commercial Riyadh Air passenger flight: Riyadh (RUH) to London Heathrow (LHR), Boeing 787-9, departing 02:35, landing 07:30. Saudi Arabia now has two airlines, and the second one opened with one of the busiest long-haul routes in the world. London and Jeddah are already flying; Dubai joins June 18, Cairo June 25, Madrid in July. One Mile at a Time — Riyadh Air launches six routes
Air Canada sends its A321XLR to Mallorca today — lie-flat seats on a narrowbody across the Atlantic. Montréal–Palma de Mallorca (YUL–PMI) launched June 17: four times weekly, Airbus A321XLR, 14 Signature Class lie-flat seats, 168 economy. It is Air Canada’s first A321XLR route and the first time the carrier has offered lie-flat seats on a single-aisle transatlantic crossing. Toulouse and Edinburgh are next in line. Simple Flying — Air Canada A321XLR inaugural Montréal–Mallorca
AirAsia X returns to London on June 26 — first time since 2012, via Bahrain. The Malaysian low-cost carrier resumes Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London Gatwick (LGW) daily from June 26, with a 90-minute stop in Bahrain. Total journey time around 16.5 hours, A330-300, with introductory fares from around €40 one-way. AirAsia X was the last low-cost carrier on this route before disappearing in 2012; since then the corridor belonged entirely to full-service airlines. Confirm the exact date on the AirAsia X website before booking. AirAsia Newsroom — Kuala Lumpur–Bahrain–London from June 26
because you need to know which window seat has four planets in it tonight.