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.
Although fainter than during the summer months, the winter Milky Way is worth a look. It arcs high overhead around 8 or 9 p.m., although you need a viewing area free of light pollution to see it. Many bright star clusters punctuate the winter Milky Way.
Mars is at its closest and brightest this week. Tonight, however, it will vanish for a while, hidden behind the Moon. From any given location, Mars will be out of sight for no more than about an hour. The event will be visible across the contiguous U.S.
Mars is especially fetching now because it’s lining up opposite the Sun. It rises at sunset and remains in view all night. It looks like a brilliant orange star. It shines as intensely as Sirius, the brightest true star in the night sky.
Achernar, the brightest star of Eridanus, the river, is visible from south of about Dallas. The rest of Eridanus is in better view. It begins next to the foot of Orion, which is in the east-southeast at nightfall, then curls to the right, then down to the horizon.
The Moon anchors a beautiful lineup tonight. As night falls, the planet Jupiter and the star Aldebaran trickle off to the lower right of the Moon. The trio stays close as it arcs across the sky during the night.
Jupiter is in great view this month. The planet looks like a brilliant star, high in the east at nightfall. Tonight, it’s far to the lower left of the Moon. The gap will narrow during the night, so they will be closer as they set in the wee hours of the morning.
Vega, the brightest star of Lyra, the harp, is getting ready to disappear in the evening twilight. It is quite low in the northwest as darkness falls tonight, and will drop a little lower in the sky each night.
When Frank Drake launched the first search for extraterrestrial intelligence, in 1960, his first target was the nearby star Tau Ceti. The star stands in the south as night falls, in Cetus, the sea monster. It is bright enough to see with the unaided eye.
Rigel, the brightest star of Orion the hunter, is low in the east-southeast at nightfall. It’s to the right of Orion’s three-star belt, which extends upward from the horizon. Rigel is the seventh-brightest star system in the night sky, so you can’t miss it.
Twilight has precise beginning and ending points. Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight begin or end when the Sun lies 6, 12, and 18 degrees below the horizon, respectively. Astronomical twilight provides the darkest skies.
