Sky Safari star map annotated with Annotable by Peter Tagatac.

June’s Evening Planets:

As of the second week of June, Mercury will be moving between Gemini the Twins and Cancer the Crab until around 9 PM. Red Mars will be in Gemini the Twins as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night. Jupiter is in Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer all night. Saturn and dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night until 8 PM by the end of June.

June’s Evening Stars:

Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Look for reddish Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion, Arcturus in Bootes the Herdsman, Spica in Virgo the Maiden, along with the stars of constellations Lyra, Hercules, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Libra, Leo, Cepheus , Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Draco, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

June’s Morning Planets:

Bright Venus will be in Cetus the Sea Monster at the beginning of the month and in Taurus the Bull by the end of the month as of 5 AM. Jupiter is in Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer until 6 AM and setting earlier every morning. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer as of 2 AM and rising earlier every night. Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish around 4 AM and rising earlier every day. Saturn and Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer until dawn.

June ’s Morning Stars:

The Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the will be up until sunrise. This month, look for Arcturus in Boötes, Capella in Auriga the charioteer along with the stars of constellations Hercules, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, Capricornus, Cepheus , Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

June Skylights

June 3 New Moon at 6:00 AM
June 7 Moon at perigee (229,000 miles away)
June 10 First Quarter Moon at 2:00 AM
June 10 Jupiter at opposition, its brightest week in 2019
June 17 Full Moon at 4:30 AM, Strawberry Moon
June 18 Mercury is 0.2° north of Mars – sunset
June 18 Moon is 0.5° south of Saturn – midnight
June 21 Summer solstice – longest day of 2018
June 23 Moon at apogee (251,400 miles away)
June 23 Mercury at greatest eastern elongation
June 25 Last quarter Moon at 5:55 AMTimes given in EDT.