Three bright planets stairstep up the evening sky for most of the month. Venus, the Evening Star, is the brightest, followed by Jupiter, then Mercury (see Featured Event). Scorpius arcs low across the south during the night, while the Summer Triangle—the bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair—is in the east at nightfall and soars high overhead in the wee hours. The Big Dipper is high in the north at nightfall early in the month, but a little lower in the northwest by June’s end.
The full Moon of June is known as the Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon, or Honey Moon.
Perigee June 14
Apogee June 28
Moon phases are Central Time.
The Big Dipper hunches low in the north at nightfall, with its bowl not far above the horizon. It rotates across the sky during the night, reaching its highest point early in the morning. It is still high in the sky as night gives way to twilight.
Cassiopeia the queen, whose brightest stars form a letter M, stands high in the north at nightfall. One of its most interesting denizens is Cassiopeia A, the remnant of an exploded star. It’s the brightest source of radio waves outside the solar system.
Earth will be closest to the Sun for the entire year tomorrow, roughly 1.5 million miles closer than the average distance of 93 million miles. That means Earth is receiving a bit more solar energy than average.
