Stargazers love the dark, which makes June a challenging month. By the time of the summer solstice on June 21, there are only 8 ½ hours between sunset and sunrise. If you leave out twilight, there are just four hours between 11pm and 3am when the sky is fully dark. But don’t leave out twilight; it’s the perfect time to watch the planets come out.
Venus is the *star* of June. You have probably noticed our sister planet all spring in the western sky, bright and beautiful and the first light to emerge after sunset. On June 1, Venus forms a straight line to the left of Gemini’s Castor and Pollux. On June 11 to 14, Venus passes in front of the Beehive Cluster, a lovely sprinkling of stars. This is best enjoyed with binoculars or spotting scope.
Watch how Venus gets closer to Jupiter during the month. Jupiter is one-tenth the brightness of Venus but still the second light to appear after sunset. As the month opens, Jupiter and Venus are 20 degrees apart. If you hold out your left hand and make the “rock on” sign, your pinkie should be touching Jupiter and your index finger should be at Venus. By June 19 and 20, they are just 7 degrees apart (four fingers) and are joined by the waxing crescent Moon. As June ends, Jupiter and Venus are only 1/3 degree apart, less than the width of the Full Moon.
If you have a telescope or a way to hold your binoculars steady, you can see Venus growing larger as it approaches Earth. At the same time, its phase is waning (like the Moon) and goes from 1/2 lit at the start of the month to 1/3 lit at the end of the month. Turn your telescope to Jupiter to see its four largest moons changing position from night to night.
June’s Full Moon is called the Strawberry Moon. Watch for it rising in the ESE on June 2 just as the Sun is setting in the WNW. It passes low across the southern sky and takes on a luscious honey color. On June 28, look for Saturn just to the right of the waxing gibbous Moon. A telescope will let you be wowed by its rings.
In grade school, I learned to divide creatures into diurnal (active during the day) and nocturnal (active at night). More recently, I was happy to learn of a third category: crepuscular (active at twilight). It is the crepuscular creatures who get to enjoy the planets at twilight this June.
John Heasley is an astronomy educator and stargazer who enjoys connecting people with the cosmos. He volunteers with NASA/JPL as a Solar System Ambassador. For more information about stargazing in southwest WI, like Driftless Stargazing LLC on Facebook and find out whenever there’s something awesome happening in the skies. Driftless Dark Skies appears monthly in the Voice of the River Valley.