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.
Two of our closest neighbors form Luhman 16, 6.5 light-years away. It’s in Vela, the sail, which peeks into view late tonight as seen from the southern U.S. Luhman 16 is impossible to see with the eye alone because its members are “failed stars” known as brown dwarfs.
Today is Groundhog Day, which tradition says will tell us whether spring is nigh. Groundhog Day evolved from Candlemas, the 40th day of Christmas. It is a cross-quarter day, which occurs roughly half way between a solstice and an equinox.
Two Greek goddesses huddle close together in the sky this evening: Selene and Aphrodite-the Moon and the planet Venus, which is the brilliant Evening Star. They are in good view well before night falls, shining through the twilight.
Saturn lines up near the crescent Moon early this evening. The planet looks like a bright star close above the Moon as twilight fades. They set a couple of hours after sunset. Venus, the Evening Star, is well above them.
The pentagon-shaped constellation Auriga is high in the east at nightfall. The bright star Capella is at the top left corner, with fainter Elnath, which is shared with Taurus, at the lower right. Three star clusters wind through the constellation: M36, 37, and 38.
The Moon is new early today as it crosses between Earth and the Sun. It will return to view tomorrow evening. It will form a thin crescent quite low in the western sky not long after sunset.
The gap between the Big Dipper and Gemini and Orion, far to its upper right, looks empty. In fact, the main feature in the gap is named for its faintness. The constellation Lynx was given its name because you need the eyes of a lynx to see any of its stars.
The days are getting longer. Those who live in Seattle, for example, will see almost an hour of daylight more today than on the winter solstice, in December. The difference is smaller at more southerly latitudes; from Dallas, it’s about a half-hour.
For the casual skywatcher, Camelopardalis, the giraffe, is a dud. You need dark skies to see any of its stars. Binoculars, however, reveal some nice sights. One example is the star cluster NGC 1502, which stands high above Polaris, the North Star, about 8 p.m.
There’s a double burst of color in the sky right now. The planet Mars and the star Pollux stand side by side, in the east at nightfall and high in the sky later on. Mars is the brighter of the two, with Pollux to its left. Both of them shine bright orange.
