The sky in June

Natural History, June, 2002 by Joe Rao

Mercury appears at dawn at about midmonth, just above the east-northeastern horizon, but alas, never climbs much higher. The planet is at greatest elongation on June 21 (23 [degrees] west of the Sun). It steadily brightens for the rest of the month, so the last week of June is the best time to look for it, preferably with binoculars.

Venus soars in the western evening twilight all month. More than 25 [degrees] high in the west right after sunset, it does not drop below the horizon until about two and a half hours later. On June 1, Venus sits 2.5 [degrees] below and to the right of Jupiter; two evenings later, they are separated by 1.5 [degrees] and thereafter grow more distant. A beautiful crescent Moon hangs above and to the left of Venus on the evening of the 13th.

Mars, now a full year removed from its gloriously bright opposition of 2001, is all but gone from view. Located in Gemini, it shines at magnitude 1.7, low near the west-northwestern horizon just after sunset. By the final week of June, the combination of low altitude and bright evening twilight renders the planet invisible.

Jupiter and Venus make a bright pair in the western sky shortly after sunset early this month. The two planets are closest on June 3, when Jupiter appears one-seventh as bright as its companion. Jupiter then seems to drop rapidly away from Venus, setting earlier and becoming more deeply immersed in the evening twilight. It sits below and to the left of the crescent Moon on the 12th, likely disappearing from view by the end of the month.

Saturn arrives at solar conjunction on June 9 and is pretty much out of sight all month. Nonetheless, look for it very low near the east-northeastern horizon just before sunup during the final few days of the month, below and to the left of the somewhat brighter Mercury.

The Moon wanes to last quarter on June 2 at 8:05 P.M. New Moon falls on the 10th at 7:46 P.M., and first quarter on the 17th at 8:29 P.M. Full Moon comes on June 24 at 5:42 P.M.

An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon is too far from Earth--and therefore appears too small in the sky--to completely block the light of the Sun, so a ring, or annulus, of sunlight remains visible around the Moon's silhouette. Such an eclipse occurs June 10 over the Pacific Ocean. Near the beginning of the track of the annular eclipse, it engulfs several islands in the Indonesian Sangihe and Talaud groups and later Saipan and Tinian, of the Northern Mariana Islands chain. Just before the end of the track, it passes less than twenty miles south of Puerto Vallarta, on the west-central coast of Mexico. Observers there can see the setting Sun appearing as a spectacular ring of fire for just over a minute. Much of the rest of western and central North America sees a partial solar eclipse in the late afternoon or at sunset.

The solstice occurs at 9:24 A.M. on June 21. Summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere; winter begins in the Southern Hemisphere.

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