The Sky In June

Natural History, June, 2001 by Joe Rao

Mercury swings between Earth and the Sun this month, reaching inferior conjunction on June 16. This is not the best month for Mercury hunters, as their target will be cloaked by the blinding solar glare.

Venus, by far the brightest of the planets, rises every morning just before dawn. At twilight it is unmistakable as it ascends in the east. The planet attains its greatest elongation as early as June 8. On the 17th the Moon appears well below and to the right of Venus; on the 18th the Moon is a similar distance below and to its left.

Mars dominates the night skies this month, reaching opposition on June 13, when it shines at an eye-popping magnitude of -2.4. On June 21 it is only 41.8 million miles away, its closest approach to Earth since October 19, 1988. Mars retrogrades among the stars of Ophiuchus all month. At 40 [degrees] north latitude, it rises about an hour after sunset at the beginning of June and appears well to the right of an almost full Moon, rising together with it on the 6th. By the 13th the fiery planet rises as the Sun sets, and by month's end, it is already well above the east-southeastern horizon at dusk.

Jupiter's solar conjunction occurs on the 14th, and the planet is invisible for most of June. At month's end, it might be glimpsed just above the east-northeastern horizon about forty-five minutes before sunrise. This marks the beginning of a yearlong apparition, when the giant planet will blaze within the stars of Gemini.

Saturn will be too close to the Sun during the first two weeks of June to be seen, but after midmonth, it begins to emerge low in the east-northeastern sky about two hours before sunrise. On the morning of the 19th the yellowish planet will be below and to the left of the Moon's crescent.

The Moon is full on June 5 at 9:39 P.M. Last quarter comes on June 13 at 11:28 P.M. The new Moon falls on the 21st at 7:58 A.M., and first quarter is on the 27th at 11:19 P.M.

A totat solar eclipse, the first of the century, will get under way at 6:37 A.M. on June 21 and can be viewed along a narrow swath starting in the South Atlantic, crossing Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, and ending in the Indian Ocean. The Moon's umbral shadow cone will first touch Earth far off the coast of Uruguay. The open waters of the South Atlantic will experience the longest totality: four minutes and fifty-seven seconds.

Summer solstice occurs on June 21 at 3:38 A.M. in the Northern Hemisphere.

Unless otherwise noted, all times are given in Eastern Daylight Time.