Lunar Phases  June 3 - 6:06 pm*  June 11 - 1:03 pm* June 18 - 9:08 am*  June 25 - 11:05 am*

June 2006
Three planets shine in the western twilight for much of June: Saturn and Mars, which pass each other closely at midmonth, and Mercury, which is harder to see in the sunset glow far to their lower right. There's no missing bright Jupiter high in the south at dusk (and lower in the southwest later in the evening). Spica is off to Jupiter's right.

1 The Moon, Saturn, and fainter Mars form a diagonal line in the west at dusk, counting from upper left to lower right. Pollux and Castor are to the right of Mars. Procyon shines far below Saturn.

3 The Moon is at apogee.

6 Look a little left of the Moon this evening for Spica. Brighter Jupiter is much farther to the Moon's left.

7 Jupiter shines to the upper left of the Moon after dark, and fainter Spica shines to the Moon's upper right. Arcturus is high above them all.

10 The orange star just to the upper right of the Moon is Antares.

11 Full Moon, called the Hay Moon, Rose Moon, Strawberry Moon, or Honey Moon.

16 The Moon is at perigee.

17 Saturn and Mars are in conjunction low in the west as twilight fades. They appear separated by only about 0.6 degree -- much less than a finger's width at arm's length. Saturn is the brighter one. Also look for Mercury far to their lower right, and for Pollux above Mercury.

20 Mercury is at greatest elongation, 25 degrees from the Sun. Look for it low in the west-northwest after sunset, far to the lower right of Saturn and Mars (which are still closely paired). Don't confuse Mercury with Pollux, to its upper right.

21 The Summer solstice occurs at 7:26 a.m. CDT, when the Sun is farthest north for the year and begins its six-month return southward. Summer begins in the northern hemisphere.

22 As dawn begins to brighten, Venus shines below the waning crescent Moon low in the east.

27 Look low in the west-northwest in twilight for the thin waxing crescent Moon. Three planets gather around it: Mercury well below it (look early, before Mercury sets), Saturn to the Moon's left, and fainter Mars to the upper left of Saturn. You may need binoculars to see them through the fading glow of day.

28 Faint Mars is just below the Moon in the western twilight. Saturn is to their lower right, and Mercury is quite a bit farther lower right of Saturn. Again, bring binoculars.

29 Regulus is the rather faint star close to the Moon in twilight. To their lower right are Mars, Saturn, and Mercury, in a diagonal line in that order from upper left to lower right. Look early, before Mercury sets.

* Lunar phase times are listed for the U.S. Central Time Zone.