June offers good views for planet watchers – both early risers and night owls.
Catch Venus before sunrise. Venus will be highest in the sky in the east at dawn on June 1st, and will gradually move closer to the sun until November, when Venus will reappear in the evening sky at sunset. With binoculars or a telescope, Venus will appear half illuminated in early June, with more of the planet illuminated by the Sun as the month progresses. Be careful, though, to finish observing before sunrise to protect your eyes.
Saturn is also visible in the morning sky, moving eastward (and away from Venus) night by night. Saturn will rise at midnight by the end of June with the rings increasingly visible as the rings’ tilt increases. On June 16th, Saturn’s moon Titan will transit across the planet’s disk beginning at 4:21 AM, ending after sunrise. Titan transits will recur each 16 days through October.
Saturn and Neptune will be only a degree apart in the sky, so June is a good time to catch a look at Neptune with binoculars or a telescope.
For evening sky watchers, Mars, and Jupiter will be available low in the western sky, but Jupiter will disappear in the Sun’s glare early in the month, reaching conjunction behind the Sun on June 24. Mars will be higher in the western sky with a reddish glow. Mercury will appear from behind the sun later in the month, but will set in the west shortly after sunset. Mercury watchers will need a clear view to the western horizon.
June 30, designated as Asteroid Day, is the 117th anniversary of the Tunguska Event in 1908. A large meteorite exploded over Siberia, flattening hundreds of square miles of forest. Asteroid Day reminds us of the risk asteroids pose to Earth. Fortunately, astronomers are diligently at work identifying and tracking potentially hazardous asteroids.
Full moon occurs on June 11 at 3:43 AM EDT; new moon follows on June 25 at 6:31 AM. The solstice occurs on June 20 at 10:42 PM EDT.