June Skywatching Offers 9 Events, Including a 1.5-Degree Jupiter-Venus Conjunction
Updated
Updated · National Geographic · May 28
June Skywatching Offers 9 Events, Including a 1.5-Degree Jupiter-Venus Conjunction
7 articles · Updated · National Geographic · May 28
Nine June sky events are highlighted, led by Jupiter and Venus drawing within 1.5 degrees on June 8-9 in the northwest sky after sunset, with Mercury visible below them.
June 15’s new moon brings the month’s best dark-sky window for viewing the Milky Way’s bright galactic core, while Saturn pairs with the crescent moon on June 10 and joins Mars and the moon in a pre-dawn line on June 11.
June 27’s Bootid meteor shower is usually sparse but can briefly spike to about 100 meteors an hour, though a bright, nearly full moon may wash out much of the display.
June 29’s full strawberry moon rises around 8 p.m. ET, and late June also brings Mars close to the Pleiades, within about 4 to 5 degrees before sunrise.
All month, the Summer Triangle stays prominent, and June 21’s solstice marks summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter aurora season in the south.
With June’s new moon offering a perfect Milky Way view, what is the secret to capturing a breathtaking galactic photograph?
As planets align this June, what is the difference between an astronomical illusion and a powerful astrological event?