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.
Leo, one of spring’s best-known constellations, is in good view by 9 p.m. Look for its bright heart, Regulus, well above the Moon as they climb into view. The lion’s head is to the upper left of Regulus and its body and tail to the lower left.
Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, is quite close to the full Moon as night falls this evening. The Moon moves away from Regulus during the night, but they are still close at dawn.
The Moon will be full early tomorrow as it lines up opposite the Sun in our sky. The full Moon of February is known as the Snow Moon, Wolf Moon, or Hunger Moon.
Alpha Monocerotis, the brightest star of Monoceros, the unicorn, is nearing the end of its life. Internal changes have caused the star to puff up like a balloon, growing so bright that it is visible across almost 150 light-years of space.
Mars is close to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall. It looks like a bright orange star. The true star Pollux is closer to the lower left of the Moon, with Castor, the other twin of Gemini, to their upper left.
The Big Bear is more than just the Big Dipper. The dipper outlines the body and tail of Ursa Major, the big bear. But the constellation covers much more territory. Some fainter stars outline the bear’s legs and head.
The gibbous Moon lines up opposite the center of the Milky Way Galaxy tonight. In that direction we’re looking toward the rim of the galaxy’s disk. The rim is about 25,000 light-years away, with intergalactic space beyond.
The planet Jupiter is close to the Moon at nightfall. It looks like a brilliant star. Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, is to the lower right of Jupiter. Binoculars reveal Jupiter’s four big moons, including Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system.
AM Herculis consists of an odd “zombie” star that has grabbed a companion star in a magnetic embrace. That grip keeps the stars synchronized and pulls gas from the companion. The system is 300 light-years away, in Hercules, which is high in the east at dawn.
The Moon reaches first quarter tonight, when it aligns at a right angle to the line from Earth to the Sun. Sunlight will illuminate half of the lunar hemisphere that faces our way.
