June Skies 2007

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

Just after dusk in early June will be our last opportunities to glimpse a few straggler Winter stars low in the West after sunset.  Later in the evening all the prominent Summer stars and constellations become highly visible, and by 11p.m. the Summer Milky Way begins to rise high overhead and display its familiar band of stars.

The Sun:
The Sun begins June in the Zodiac constellation of TAURUS the Bull, where it remains until June 21st.  This year, the Sun reaches its most northerly point in the sky (marking the beginning of Summer) near mid-afternoon on June 21st.  The Sun will then be on the Taurus – Gemini-Orion border.  For the remainder of June, the Sun resides in the constellation of Gemini.

The year’s earliest sunrise occurs at 5:22a.m. on June 12th.  The latest sunsets of the year occur (to the nearest second) on both June 29th and June 30th.  In between, the actual longest day of the year (14 hours, 13 minutes, and a few seconds in duration) happens on June 21st.

The Moon:
Moon Phases:
June’s 3rd QUARTER MOON is seen the morning of the 8th in AQUARIUS.
June’s NEW MOON occurs the evening of June 14th in TAURUS.
The Moon marks its 3rd QUARTER phase the morning of June 22nd in VIRGO.
June’s FULL MOON occurs the morning of June 30th in SAGITTARIUS. The previous
evening’s moonrise occurs at sunset and the Moon rides low to the horizon all night.

Moon and Planets:  June’s Moon will be seen near all five naked-eye planets!
JUPITER, in OPHIUCHUS, is above the Moon the evenings of the 1st, the 27th and the 28th.
MARS, in PISCES, is slightly below the Moon the morning of June 10th
MERCURY, in GEMINI, is below the Moon the evening of June 15th.
VENUS, in Cancer, is East of the Moon the evening of June 17th.
SATURN will be just East of the Moon in LEO the evening of the 18th.

Moon & Prominent Stars
The: Waning Crescent Moon passes through the Pleiades cluster the morning of the 13th.
Waxing Crescent Moon is near Castor and Pollux in GEMINI the evening of the 16th.
Waxing Crescent Moon is near Regulus in LEO the evening of the 19th.
Gibbous Moon is near Spica in VIRGO the nights of the 23rd and 24th.
Nearly Full Moon lies near Antares in SCORPIO the night of the 23rd-24th.

The Evening Sky
Essentially, all sunsets in June occur at about the same time: Between 7:28p.m. on June 1st to 7:37p.m. on June 29th and 30th.  In fact, between June 20th and July 8th, all the sunsets occur within a few seconds of 7:37p.m.!  This means it will be easier to plan June evening observing.

Evening Planets.  MERCURY, VENUS, SATURN and JUPITER
MERCURY, VENUS, SATURN and JUPITER are all easily observed in the evening sky this month. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are the brightest objects in the evening sky (after the Moon) and should be easily found all month. Mercury remains near the Sun and is visible only the first two weeks of the month.

MERCURY begins the month in a waning crescent phase about as well placed for viewing as it can ever be! For the first two weeks of June, Mercury sets in a dark sky. However, it is easiest to find about one-half hour after sunset as it peeks out of the darkening northwestern sky.  Low in the Northwest, Mercury lags the Sun by about 23 degrees (more than two fists held at arm’s length, or 45 Moon diameters) on June 1st  and should easily be visible if you have a fairly clear view to the Northwest horizon.  Mercury holds this relative position vs. the Sun for nearly two weeks before noticeably moving back toward the horizon. After the 15th, Mercury rapidly approaches the Sun and passes it, moving into the morning sky as a morning planet on the 28th.
Mercury remains in Gemini all month, and may be spied with binoculars as late as June 21st.  A small telescope reveals Mercury’s crescent phase shrinking all month, from a fat crescent on the 1st to a very tiny sliver as it approaches the Sun just before month end.

VENUS and SATURN are fairly close together on the 1st and move toward each other until they pass each other on the 30th.
Venus, the brightest object in the Western sky and a bright white color, begins June in GEMINI aligned with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Venus then enters CANCER, the Zodiac crab, on June 2nd, and continues eastward moving into LEO on the 25th, where it remains the rest of the month.  A small telescope shows Venus has phases like the Moon and Mercury. It appears more than half illuminated on the 1st, but shrinks to a 1/3-illuminated fat crescent by month-end.

Saturn presents a yellowish hue. Small telescopes easily show Saturn’s rings and at least its largest satellite, Titan. Saturn remains in LEO all month.

Between June 28th and July 2nd be sure to watch the close conjunction of Venus and Saturn as they pass in the night sky!

JUPITER shines in OPHIUCHUS all month as the brightest object in the night sky after Venus and the Moon.  Rising at 7:40 p.m. on the 1st and at 5:45 p.m. on the 30th, this month Jupiter will be visible nearly all night. A strong pair of binoculars (or better yet, a small telescope) shows Jupiter’s four brightest satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) orbiting close to Jupiter’s equator.  From night to night, these moons change positions back and forth as they orbit Jupiter with periods ranging from less than 2 days (Io) to about 17 days (Callisto). Telescopic observers sometimes see the shadow of a moon on Jupiter’s clouds or even see the moons themselves pass directly in front of the planet. You may also spot several cloud bands in the planet’s atmosphere and perhaps its famous “Great Red Spot”, a persistent Jovian hurricane.  Between June 1st and 6th, Jupiter will appear to have not 4 but 5 bright satellites as it moves past the 7th magnitude star SAO 184804.

What Else to See?
The sky will be quite dark by 9p.m., although Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are advantageously placed for earlier viewing. June evenings are fine times to view Ursa Major (the familiar “Big Dipper”) high overhead in the Northern Sky.  Follow the Dipper’s “handle” stars in a curve over to the bright orange star Arcturus (also high overhead in Bootes) and on to Spica in Virgo.  Beneath the Big Dipper and toward the West is Leo the Lion with Saturn (and later in the month) Venus.  Beneath Leo and West of Virgo is the squashed rectangle of Corvus the Crow. High as Virgo and more to the East, is Hercules.
Northeast of Hercules the brightest star of summer, Vega, rises higher each evening.  Vega marks the position of Lyra the lyre.  Below Vega is Cygnus, the Swan (or Northern Cross), anchored at the Northern end by the blue-white star Deneb.  South of Deneb is yellow Altair in Aquila the eagle.  These 3 stars (Vega, Deneb and Altair) form the bright “Summer Triangle” stars.  Later in the evening, Jupiter will rise high enough to view in steadier air with binoculars or a telescope.

The long “body” of Scorpio the zodiac scorpion rises in the Southeast sky after dark.  Even the stars in Scorpio’s low “tail” and “stinger” will be above the horizon by 10:30p.m. in early June. These stars are then followed by Sagittarius the zodiac Archer who aims an arrow at the starry scorpion.  At 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 also occur at nearly the same time all month: Between 5:21a.m. and 5:26a.m.

The MOON is easily seen in morning skies between June 1st and June 13th, then again from June 25th through the end of the month.  A thin crescent Moon lies near Mars on the morning of June 10th.

Morning Planet:  MARS.
MARS begins June in PISCES and moves into ARIES on June 26th, where it remains for the rest of the month.  On the 1st, Mars rises at 2:30 a.m., but by month end, it will rise nearly an hour earlier. Since Mars is now on the far side of the Sun, it appears much fainter than when close to Earth (as it will be this December!). Although it is now as bright as a 1st magnitude star, Mars will appear more than 8 times brighter by December. Then, it will shine high overhead in the winter sky brighter than even the brightest star, Sirius!
Morning telescopic observers can watch Mars move past many background stars during June. On the morning of June 7th Mars will appear inside a triangle of 6th magnitude stars. Use a small telescope between June 5th and 9th to watch this event. A similar event occurs with other stars from June 15th to 17th.
The morning of June 8th, Mars will then be VERY close to (1 arc-minute distant from) the star 80 Piscium.  Mars then moves past 4th magnitude Omicron Piscium on the 21st  and past the 7th magnitude star SAO 92768 on June 28th.

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

The Moon will eclipse a few naked eye stars this month, including the Pleiades star cluster. Use a small telescope or strong binoculars to observe them. Details here.

Free Public Observing Session: Weather permitting, the East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC) is hosting a FREE public observing session at their observatory in Gilbert, AZ the evening of June 8th.  Find out more information here.

Good Luck Observing!