Our celestial neighbourhood in June
PICK OF THE MONTH
Venus
Best time to see: 30 June, 30 minutes before sunrise
Altitude: 10˚
Location: Taurus
Direction: East-northeast
Features: Phase, subtle markings on the planet’s disc
Recommended equipment: 75mm, or larger
Whether you’ve been out all night looking for noctilucent clouds (NLCs), or perhaps have got up early to catch the June solstice sunrise on the morning of 21
June, don’t forget to keep a lookout for the bright planet Venus. As you might guess from that last statement, Venus is currently a morning object. Located within Taurus, the Bull, the planet rises 80 minutes before the Sun at the start of June, increasing to 100 minutes by the month’s end. It remains a fraction below mag. –4.0 during June and, despite a low morning altitude, this brightness should help you to see it given clear skies.
Through a telescope Venus appears gibbous and is decreasing in apparent size as it moves along a portion of its orbit on the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth. In the sky, the planet is slipping c elestial neighbourhood in June closer to the Sun’s position in the sky.
A slender 7%-lit waning crescent Moon sits close to the bright planet on the morning of 26 June and this should be an attractive sight, as long as you have a flat east-northeast horizon. The Moon will appear 2.2˚ above Venus as seen from the UK on this date and should be exhibiting the phenomenon known as earthshine, where the dark portion can be seen glowing gently against the lit crescent.
On 30 June, Aldebaran (Alpha (α) Tauri) is located below Venus, marking the right angle in a right-angle triangle with mag. –0.6 Mercury further to the left. Both Mercury and Aldebaran will be low and difficult to locate, but Venus will be a good guide if you want to try.
Mercury
Best time to see: 30 June, 30 minutes before sunrise
Altitude: 4˚ (very low)
Location: Taurus
Direction: Northeast
A morning planet, dim at the month’s start and not well placed. It reaches greatest western elongation on 16 June when it shines at mag. +0.7 and rises 50 minutes before the Sun. On the 27th, a thin 3%-lit waning crescent Moon sits north of the mag. –0.3 planet. Mercury rises above the northeast horizon just over an hour before the Sun on this date, chasing mag. –3.8 Venus over the sky. The best view will be on the 30th, when Mercury shines at mag. –0.6 and rises 70 minutes before the Sun.
Mars
Best time to see: 30 June, 03:00 UT
Altitude: 22˚
Location: Pisces
Direction: East-southeast
Mars is a morning planet, improving in appearance over June. On the 1st, it rises two hours before the Sun and shines at mag. +0.7. Through an eyepiece, it shows a gibbous phase, 6 arcseconds across on the 1st. At the month’s start, it appears close to mag. –2.1 Jupiter, the planets appearing 1.7˚ apart on the 1st. The waning crescent Moon passes close to Mars on the mornings of the 22nd and 23rd. By the month’s end, it will have brightened to mag. +0.5 with an apparent disc size of 7 arcseconds across.
Jupiter
Best time to see: 30 June, 03:00 UT
Altitude: 26˚
Location: Cetus
Direction: Southeast
Jupiter is a mag. –2.1 morning planet this month. On 1 June it appears close to mag. +0.7 Mars, the pair separated by 1.7˚. The last quarter Moon sits near Jupiter on the 21st and again as a waning crescent on the 22nd. Although Jupiter can be seen against dark twilight by the end of the month, it is unable to reach its highest position in the sky before sunrise. Following the solstice, conditions will improve. On 25 June, Jupiter drifts east into Cetus. This is a part of the constellation that sits south of Pisces and east of the Circlet asterism.
Saturn
Best time to see: 30 June, 03:00 UT
Altitude: 22˚
Location: Capricornus
Direction: South
Saturn is visible in the morning sky, shining at mag. +0.8 at June’s start, but brightening to mag. +0.7 by its close. An 81%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits near to Saturn on the morning of the 18th. By the month’s end, Saturn manages to reach an altitude of 22˚ as seen from the centre of the UK, before the brightening dawn twilight engulfs it. Through a scope, the rings are now appearing to narrow. This month, the tilt angle reaches a low for 2022, varying between 12.1˚–12.3˚. This presents Saturn with a ‘classic’ appearance, with its polar regions extending north and south beyond the ring ellipse.
Uranus
The morning planet Uranus is not visible this month.
Neptune
Neptune is a morning planet, but not viable for observation.
The planets in June
The phase and relative sizes of the planets this month. Each planet is shown with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope
Jupiter’s moons: June
Using a small scope you can spot Jupiter’s biggest moons. Their positions change dramatically over the month, as shown on the diagram. The line by each date represents 01:00 BST (00:00 UT).
