In the Sky This Month

At dawn tomorrow, the Sun will light up only about one-eighth of the lunar hemisphere that faces our way, making it a fairly thin crescent. The planet Venus, the brilliant Morning Star, will stand to the lower right of the Moon.

Today is the summer solstice. It’s the point in Earth’s orbit that marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. It’s also the longest day of the year north of the equator.

Aquila, the eagle, spreads its wings across the evening sky as we head into summer. It is low in the east as darkness falls. Its brightest star, Altair, is at the bottom right point of the widely spread Summer Triangle.

At a distance of just six light-years, Barnard’s Star is one of our closest neighbors. It is in Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer, which stretches across the east and southeast in early evening. But you need a telescope to see Barnard’s Star.

Look for the planet Saturn near the Moon the next couple of mornings. It looks like a bright star. It will stand to the lower left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow, and a little closer to the right of the Moon on Thursday.

Cepheus is in the north and northeast at nightfall. It looks like a child’s drawing of a house. The peak of the roof is on the left during the evening, with the king’s brightest star, Alderamin, at the top right corner of the sideways house.

Delta Capricorni, the brightest star of Capricornus, climbs into good view by about 1 a.m., less than a degree from the Moon. It’s at the left point of the wide triangle formed by the seagoat’s brighter stars. Delta Cap is about 39 light-years away.

Under clear, dark skies, the perfect spiral galaxy Messier 81 is visible through binoculars. It’s high in the north-northwest at nightfall, to the lower right of the bowl of the Big Dipper. It looks like an oval smudge that’s almost as wide as the Moon.

Eltanin, the brightest star of Draco, the dragon, is high in the northeast at nightfall, to the upper left of Vega, one of the brighter stars in the night sky. Eltanin means “the great serpent.” The star represents one of the dragon’s glowing eyes.

The planet Mars and the star Regulus are headed for a close meet-up. They are about a third of the way up the western sky at nightfall. Regulus perches to the left or upper left of Mars. They will pass closest to one another on Monday and Tuesday.