In the Sky This Month

The star cluster Messier 10, in Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, is in the southeast as night falls, well to the upper left of the brilliant planet Jupiter. Through binoculars, it looks like a hazy smudge of light.

The planet Saturn appears just a whisker above the Moon as they climb into view in late evening. The giant planet looks like a bright star. It will be a little farther to the right of the Moon at first light tomorrow.

Cygnus, the swan, is beginning its climb to prominence in the summer sky. It is low in the east and northeast a couple of hours after sunset. Its long, graceful body runs parallel to the horizon, with its wings stretched to either side.

The full Moon and the planet Jupiter keep company tonight. Jupiter looks like a brilliant star to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall. Both worlds align opposite the Sun right now, so they qre in view all night.

The Moon has two bright companions tonight. The star Antares stands to the lower right of the Moon as night falls, with the brilliant planet Jupiter about the same distance to the lower left of the Moon.

Vega, the second-brightest star in the northern half of the sky, is in great view as we head toward summer. Vega is well up in the east-northeast as darkness falls and climbs high overhead later on.

The Summer Triangle is climbing into view in the eastern evening sky. Its highest and brightest point is the star Vega. The northern point is Deneb, the tail of the swan, while its southern point is Altair, the brightest star of the eagle.

Spica, the leading light of the constellation Virgo, is to the lower right of the Moon as night falls. Spica consists of two big, bright, heavy stars. They are so close together that each one distorts the shape of the other, making them look like eggs.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is low in the southeast at nightfall. It looks like a brilliant star, outshining everything else in the night sky except the Moon. It moves low across the south during the night and sets at sunrise.

The stars Mizar and Alcor stride high across the north on June evenings, at the middle of the Big Dipper’s handle. Mizar is the brighter one, with Alcor just a whisker away. They are so close that long-ago skywatchers thought of them as a horse and rider.