Many of June's best skywatching treats congregate in the morning sky, including four of the five planets visible to the unaided eye: Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Jupiter rises first and is visible through most of the post-midnight hours, with the other three peeking into view not too long before first light. The Moon sweeps past them around the summer solstice, livening up the hours before and during dawn.





  June Highlights:

3 Moon near Spica at 11h UT (evening sky). 5 Venus at greatest elongation, 46° west from Sun, at 21h UT (morning sky). Mag. -4.3. • Elongation (Wikipedia) 7 Moon very near Antares at 3h UT (midnight sky). Occultation visible from southern and eastern North America, northern South America, and NW Africa. • Occultation of Antares (IOTA) 7 Full Moon at 18:12 UT. The full Moon of June is called the Rose Moon, Flower Moon or Strawberry Moon. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia) 10 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 16h UT (distance 405,787 km; angular size 29.5'). 13 Mercury at greatest elongation, 24° west from Sun (morning sky) at 12h UT. Mag. +0.6, low in the NNE before sunrise. Venus and the Pleiades nearby. • Elongation (Wikipedia) 13 Moon near Jupiter at 15h UT (morning sky). 15 Last Quarter Moon at 22:14 UT. 19 Moon near Venus at 13h UT (morning sky). Mag -4.2. 20 Moon near the Pleaides at 18h UT (29° from Sun, morning sky). • The Pleiades (Wikipedia) 21 June solstice at 5:45 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point farthest north of the celestial equator marking the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. • June Solstice (Wikipedia) 21 Venus 2.0° SSE of Mars at 6h UT (45° from Sun, morning sky). Mags. -4.2 and +1.1. 22 Mercury 3.2° NNW of Aldebaran at 0h UT (21° from Sun, morning sky). Mags. -0.2 and +0.9. 22 New Moon at 19:35 UT. Start of lunation 1070. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia) 23 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 11h UT (358,014 km; 33.4'). Only 15 hours after New Moon. High tides expected. 25 Moon near Beehive cluster (M44) at 4h UT (evening sky). 26 Moon near Regulus at 18h UT (evening sky). 27 Moon near Saturn at 21h UT (evening sky). Mag. +1.0. 29 First Quarter Moon at 11:28 UT. 1 Moon near Beehive cluster (M44) at 14h UT (evening sky). 1 First Quarter Moon at 20:44 UT. 3 Moon near Regulus at 4h UT (evening sky). 4 Moon near Saturn at 6h UT (evening sky). Mag +0.8. 6 Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks at 0h UT. Active from April 19 to May 28. Associated with Comet Halley. Very fast, bright meteors, up to 10-20 per hour. Favors skywatchers in the tropics and southern hemisphere. • Eta Aquarids (Gary Kronk) • Meteor Shower Calendar 2009 (IMO) 7 Moon near Spica at 5h UT (evening sky). 9 Full Moon at 4:01 UT. The full Moon of May is called the Planting Moon or Milk Moon. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia) 10 Moon very near Antares at 21h UT (morning sky). Occultation visible from SE Europe, NE Africa, and Southern Asia. • Occultation of Antares (IOTA) 14 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 3h UT (distance 404,915 km; angular size 29.5'). 15 Titan Shadow Transit from 5:30 to 10:35 UT. The shadow of Titan passes across the face of Saturn. View with a 6-inch or larger aperture telescope. 17 Moon near Jupiter at 5h UT (morning sky). 17 Last Quarter Moon at 7:26 UT. 18 Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 10h UT. Passes into the morning sky (not visible). 21 Moon near Venus at 3h UT (morning sky). Mag -4.4. 24 New Moon at 12:11 UT. Start of lunation 1069. 26 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 4h UT (361,153 km; 33.1'). 27 Jupiter 0.39° SSE of Neptune at 10h UT (morning sky). Mags. -2.4 and +7.9. 28 Moon near Beehive cluster (M44) at 20h UT (evening sky). 30 Moon near Regulus at 10h UT (evening sky). 31 First Quarter Moon at 3:22 UT. 31 Moon near Saturn at 12h UT (evening sky). >>> All times Universal Time (UT).    USA Central Standard Time = UT-6 hours.  (DST = UT-5 hrs,)

 

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