June Skies 2006

June marks the end of Spring and ushers in the season of Summer. June has longer days and shorter nights until June 21st.  After then, we experience progressively shorter days until December.  June also brings a spectacular early evening planetary conjunction involving Mars and Saturn.

Early June will be the last opportunity to glimpse straggling Winter stars low in the Southwest after sunset.  Later in the evening the prominent Summer stars and constellations become more visible. The Milky Way now wraps around our horizon in the early evening and is invisible.  Later in June, or later at night, the Summer Milky Way will also be visible.

The SUN begins June in the Zodiac constellation of TAURUS the Bull, where it remains until June 21st.  In 2006, the Sun reaches its most northerly point in the sky (marking the beginning of Summer) about 10:30a.m. on the 21st.  The Sun will then be on the Taurus - Gemini border.  For the rest of June, the Sun will remain in the constellation of Gemini.

The earliest sunrise of the year occurs just before 5:21a.m. on June 10th.  The latest sunset of the year is a few seconds after 7:36p.m. on June 30th.  In between, the longest day of the year (14 hours, 13 minutes, and a few seconds) happens on June 21st.  Do you wonder why the earliest sunrise and the latest sunset do NOT occur on June 21.  Why not?

The Evening Sky
Essentially, all June sunsets happen at the same time: They differ only from 7:27p.m. on June 1st to 7:36p.m. on June 30th.  In fact, between June 23rd and July 2nd all sunsets occur within a few seconds of 7:36p.m.!

The Moon:
June’s 1st QUARTER MOON is seen on June 2nd in LEO.
June’s FULL MOON is on June 10th in SCORPIO.  On that evening, moonrise will be just before sunset and you should notice the Moon never reaching very far above the horizon all night.

The Moon marks its 3rd QUARTER phase on June 18th in PISCES the Zodiac Fishes.
June’s NEW MOON occurs the morning of June 25th. Although the Sun is in Gemini, the New Moon will be several degrees further North, in the non-Zodiac constellation of AURIGA.
(How can the Moon NOT be in a Zodiac constellation? See this link!

The June Moon is seen near five naked-eye planets:
SATURN (in CANCER) below the Moon the evening of the 1st and left (South) of the
Moon on the evening of the 27th.
JUPITER (in LIBRA) above the Moon the nights of June 7th and 8th.
VENUS (in Taurus) below the Moon the mornings of June 22nd and 23rd.
MERCURY (in CANCER) left (South) of the Moon on June 26th and below it on June 27th.
MARS (in Cancer) will be slightly below the Moon the evening of June 28th.

Moon & Prominent Stars:
Waxing Moon near Regulus in Leo on the 2nd.
Waxing Gibbous Moon is very near Spica in VIRGO overnight June 6th-7th.
The -Full Moon is near Antares in Scorpio overnight June 10th –11th.
Waning Crescent Moon is near the Pleiades the morning of the 23rd.

Evening Planets.  MERCURY, MARS, SATURN, and JUPITER
MERCURY, MARS, JUPITER and SATURN can be observed all month in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn are noted as the brightest objects in the sky (after the Sun, Moon and Venus, which rises no earlier than 3:30a.m. all month).

MERCURY is very well placed in June for observing with binoculars and, for part of the month, even with the unaided eye!  Look for it low in the Northwest following the Sun by about 13 degrees on June 1st. Mercury then moves farther away from the Sun until it sets in a dark sky more than an hour after sunset between June 5th, and June 26th.  All month Mercury appears to chase after MARS and SATURN, but fails to catch up to them. Nevertheless, Mercury starts June in Taurus, moves rapidly into Gemini, and ends the month in Cancer. By month end, Mercury is still an easy binocular object, but is quickly becoming lost in the sunset glare.

MARS and SATURN move closer to each other during early June, then pass and separate late in the month.  Saturn is the brightest object in the Western sky and of a light yellow color. Mars, now quite far from Earth, appears reddish in color. In early June Mars appears below and to the right (North) of Saturn. As they pass each other between June 12th and June 19th, Mars first passes the “Beehive” star cluster in Cancer on June 14th and June 15th, then passes Saturn on June 16th and June 17th.  All-in-all, a spectacular sight which can be appreciated very well with the unaided eye, binoculars and/or a telescope! In early August, Saturn moves past the Sun and becomes a Morning Planet, while Mars continues to move Eastward until passing the Sun in October.

The evening of June 2nd, Mars will appear very close to the 5th magnitude star “Mu Cancri”.

The evenings of June 16th  and 17th  Saturn will appear very close to the faint star “SAO 98098.”

JUPITER shines in Libra as the brightest object in the night sky (other than the Moon and Venus, which rises about 3:30a.m.). Jupiter is visible most of the night, setting at about 3:45a.m. on June1st but 2 hours earlier at month end. A good pair of binoculars should show Jupiter’s four brightest satellites Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto close to the planet.  These moons always remain near the planet’s equator. From night to night, the moons’ positions change as they orbit the giant planet with periods from 2 days (Io) to 17 days (Callisto). Sometimes a telescopic observer can note the shadows of the moons on Jupiter’s clouds or even see the moons pass in front of the planet.

Between June 26th and July 10th, Jupiter will appear to have 5 Galilean moons as the planet moves past the star SAO 158577. Although an occultation is not predicted, on June 26-27, telescopic observers should try to observe Jupiter’s moon Callisto appearing VERY close to this star.

What Else to See?
Spring’s prominent constellations set earlier each evening as Summer approaches.  Still, the sky will be dark by 9:30p.m.  Early June evenings will be fine times to view Ursa Major (the familiar “Big Dipper”) high in the Northern Sky.  Follow through the Dipper’s “handle” stars in a curve over to bright Arcturus (high overhead in Bootes) and on to Spica (near Jupiter) in Virgo.  Beneath the Big Dipper and toward the West is Leo the Lion.  Beneath and to the West of Virgo is Corvus the Crow. As high as Virgo and more to the East, is Hercules.

Northeast of Hercules the brilliant star Vega rises higher each evening.  Vega is the brightest star of summer and marks the position of Lyra the lyre.  Below Vega is Cygnus, the Swan (or Northern Cross), anchored at its northern end by the blue-white star Deneb.  To the South of Deneb is yellow Altair in Aquila the eagle.  Vega, Deneb and Altair form the “Summer Triangle” of bright summer stars.

Rising in the June Southeast sky after dark is the long “body” of Scorpio the zodiac scorpion.  By 10:30p.m. on early June evenings the stars of Scorpio’s “tail” and “stinger” will be above the horizon, followed by Sagittarius the Zodiac Archer aiming his arrow at the scorpion.  In Scorpio’s heart is the bright red supergiant star Antares, a star many believe will one day die as a dazzling supernova.

The Morning Sky
June sunrises occur at nearly the same time all month: From 5:24a.m. on June1st to 5:21a.m. on June 10th, and then later again to 5:25a.m. on the 30th.

The MOON appears in the morning skies between June 11th and the 24th.  A thin crescent Moon lies near Venus on the mornings of June 22nd and June 23rd.

Morning Planet:  VENUS.
VENUS begins June in ARIES and moves into Taurus on June 18th, where it remains for the rest of the month.  Seen through a telescope, Venus displays phases like the Moon over a nearly two-year cycle as seen from the Earth. Through a telescope, Venus now shows a nearly “Full” phase.
Between June 20th and June 30th, Venus will bypass the two bright star clusters, the “Pleiades” and the “Hyades” in Taurus.

What Else to See?   The Summer Milky Way is best positioned to observe after midnight, so morning observers are most fortunate in June.  Those with binoculars or a small telescope can pick out many star clusters, star clouds and gas clouds (nebulae) by sweeping along the arch of the Milky Way from Cygnus to Sagittarius.

Good Luck Observing!