{"id":32583,"date":"2022-05-30T11:05:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T11:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=27497"},"modified":"2022-05-30T11:23:18","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T11:23:18","slug":"spend-a-month-with-the-moon-throughout-june-2022","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/spend-a-month-with-the-moon-throughout-june-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Spend a month with the Moon throughout June 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Pete Lawrence\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 30 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The Moon\u2019s an ideal object to observe in the sky either with the naked eye or with a telescope because it is big, bright and covered with amazing detail.<\/p>\n

Roughly one-quarter the size of the Earth, the same side of the Moon is always facing Earth because tidal forces in the Earth-Moon system synchronise its rotation to match its orbital period.<\/p>\n

The Moon is often close by another interesting celestial target \u2013 an event known as a conjunction<\/a> \u2013 and so it can often be used as a bright marker in the sky enabling you to star-hop<\/a> to something smaller and fainter, yet equally as amazing.<\/p>\n

Take our lunar tour of the night sky throughout June 2022 and use the Moon as your guide to exploring the heavens.<\/p>\n

And scroll down even further for more general advice on observing the Moon.<\/p>\n

A month with the Moon, June 2022<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most of the objects we\u2019ll discuss in our June Moon tour can bee seen with the unaided eye, but we\u2019ll visit some deep-sky objects too.<\/p>\n

Before you start, however, remember to give your eyes time to adjust to the dark and preserve your night vision with red light torch<\/a>, or by using a mobile phone\u2019s night mode.<\/p>\n

New to first quarter Moon<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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1 June 2022: look for a thin crescent Moon under an arch of five stars above the western horizon.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Moon was at its new phase on 30 May, lying between the Sun and Earth, which means that as June gets underway it starts to leave the Sun\u2019s glare.<\/p>\n

On 1\u20132 June<\/strong> you will find an eyelash-thin crescent under five stars arching just above the western horizon.<\/p>\n

With the summer solstice only about three weeks away, twilight<\/a> lingers deep into the evening, so these may be tough to see.<\/p>\n

From left to right (south to north), they are Procyon (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Canis Minoris), Pollux (Beta (\u03b2<\/span>) Geminorum), Castor (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Geminorum), Menkalinan (Beta (\u03b2<\/span>) Aurigae) and Capella<\/a> (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Aurigae).<\/p>\n

Sound familiar? In the cold parts of the year, we\u2019re used to seeing them along the left-hand edge of the Winter Hexagon, but the seasons have whittled them down to this subtle and delicate arch.<\/p>\n

This part of the sky is the opposite direction to the galactic centre: as we look towards the Moon, our gaze races through the twilight and off into the vast emptiness of the open Universe.<\/p>\n

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7 June 2022: the first quarter Moon appears in the Spring Triangle, with Arcturus marking the asterism\u2019s top corner.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Let\u2019s see if we can spot the first quarter Moon in the south in the late afternoon on 7 June<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After sunset, the Moon appears to be about halfway between the stars Spica (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Virginis) and Regulus<\/a> (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Leonis), within the sprawling Spring Triangle.<\/p>\n

Try to spot orange-red Arcturus (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Bo\u00f6tis), the third of the Triangle\u2019s corners, northeast of the Moon.<\/p>\n

Full Moon and Sagittarius<\/b><\/h3>\n
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14 June 2022: the full Moon is now near the Teapot asterism, its brightness making nearby deep-sky objects tricky to spot.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Look for full Moon on 14 June<\/strong> in Sagittarius<\/a>, where the brightest of the Archer\u2019s stars form its famous Teapot asterism<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about two weeks \u2013 about half a lunar orbit \u2013 since we saw the Moon near the galactic anti-centre. Now, we\u2019re facing inwards, towards the Galaxy\u2019s centre, which is thousands of lightyears behind the Teapot\u2019s spout.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few objects from the Messier Catalogue<\/a> are in this part of the sky, including <\/span>the Butterfly and Ptolemy Clusters, M6 and M7, and the Lagoon Nebula<\/a>, M8, but <\/span>the full Moon makes them tricky to see.<\/p>\n

Waning Moon and planets<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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21 June 2022: on the night of the summer solstice, the shortest night of the year, the last quarter Moon can be spotted near Jupiter, having passed by Saturn on 18\u201319 June.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

After full Moon, the late-night, waning phases begin. Over the next few nights the Moon meets up with four of our Solar System\u2019s bright planets.<\/p>\n

On 18\u201319 June<\/strong> the Moon glides past Saturn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On 21 June<\/strong>, on the night of the summer solstice, the last quarter Moon shines with Jupiter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It meets Mars<\/a> in the morning twilight on 22 June<\/strong>, and a whisper-thin crescent greets Venus on 26 June<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We see these conjunctions because the planets all orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane, which we see as a path across the sky called the ecliptic<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ecliptic also <\/span>represents the Sun\u2019s path across the sky. The Moon\u2019s orbit is tilted by 5\u00b0 relative to the ecliptic, so the Moon usually appears to pass near the Sun and planets, but only blocks them out from time to time.<\/p>\n

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26 June 2022: look for a thin crescent Moon near Venus and the Pleiades, M45, after it has appeared close to the Red Planet on the morning of the 22nd.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Moon is new again on 29 June<\/strong>. So, we\u2019ve made it all the way back to where we started, ready to see what July brings.<\/p>\n

We hope you\u2019ll enjoy using our nearest neighbour as your guide as you discover some amazing sights in the night sky. For more advice, read our complete Moon observing guide below.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to observe the Moon with naked eye, binoculars and telescope<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At any one time, half the Moon\u2019s globe is lit by the Sun. Throughout the course of an orbit we get to see different amounts of the lit hemisphere, giving rise to the phases of the Moon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lined up with the Sun, the Moon\u2019s lit half points away from us, producing what\u2019s known as a new Moon. Slowly emerging from its new phase into the evening sky, the lunar crescent thickens from one day to the next.<\/p>\n

The term \u2018waxing\u2019 is used to indicate this thickening phase.\u00a0The waxing crescent leads into the first quarter Moon<\/a>, appearing as an illuminated semi-circle, roughly a week after new.<\/p>\n

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A thin crescent Moon exhibiting Earthshine setting over ESO\u2019s Paranal Observatory in Chile, 27 October 2011. Credit: ESO\/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

When is the best time to observe the Moon?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The best time to observe the Moon depends upon the particular interests of the observer. You might think that the best time to observe the Moon is when there is a supermoon<\/a> when the Moon is full (or in order to take advantage of the oft-celebrated blue Moon<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In general, however, full Moon is the worst time for observing. This is because there are almost no shadows and all features are drowned by the rays.<\/p>\n

During this phase of the Moon<\/a>, a crater is hard to identify unless it has a dark floor (as is the case for Plato Crater<\/a> \u2013 one of the Moon\u2019s most conspicuous craters) or if it is very bright (as with Aristarchus Crater<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Conditions for observing tend to be best during the crescent, half or gibbous phases.\u00a0For the Earthshine<\/a>, of course, a crescent stage is absolutely essential.<\/p>\n

For weekly Moon phases delivered directly to your email inbox, sign up to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The best Moon phases to observe<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Crescent Moon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n