Woking Planetarium

Read our June sky notes to find out what’s in the night sky this month!

Map

Constellations

These constellations are well placed this month, but many more can be seen. Check the star map for more.

Boötes (The Herdsman) appears high in the sky near the zenith at sunset. It moves towards the west and disappears at sunrise. It appears lower in the sky later in the month, so best views will be around the beginning of the month when it is highest in the sky. Look out for the bright red star Arcturus which forms the bottom of the constellation.

Cygnus (The Swan) appears at sunset high in the east, moving across the south towards the west, where it disappears at sunrise. Best views are later in the month when it appears higher at sunset. Look out for the Northern Cross asterism that forms the middle section of the constellation.

Aquila (The Eagle) is relatively low in the sky, but appears in the south east at sunset. It moves towards the south where it reaches it’s highest point before disappearing at sunrise.

Planets

Mercury is too close to the Sun to be seen this month. It reaches perihelion on the 13^th and superior solar conjunction 14^th.

Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Mars can be seen very low on the north eastern horizon in the early hours of the morning. It is only visible for a short time before sunrise and rises earlier towards the end of the month. Mars will be in conjunction with the Moon on the 3^rd.

Jupiter is too close to the Sun to be seen this month. It rises a little before the Sun and may be seen on the north eastern horizon immediately before dawn at the end of the month.

Saturn is visible low in the south east sky in the early hours of the morning. It rises earlier as the month goes on, so best views will be at the end of the month when it is highest before sunrise. Saturn will undergo lunar occultation on the 27^th, and enters retrograde motion 29^th.

Uranus is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It will only be in the sky at the end of the month just before sunrise on the north eastern horizon.

Neptune is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It can be seen low on the south eastern horizon just before sunrise. It rises earlier and further south as the month goes on, so best views are at the end of the month when it is highest at sunrise. Neptune will undergo lunar occultation on the 1^st and the 28^th.

Meteor Showers

The Daytime Arietids reach their peak on the night of the 10^th. The radiant (apparent origin point) of the meteors will be in the constellation of Aries. Meteors will be visible between 02:21 and 03:57 BST. Best displays will be just before dawn, as Aries reaches its highest point after dawn. You will be able to see about 10 meteors per hour.

The June Bootids reach their peak on the night of the 27^th. The radiant (apparent origin point) of the meteors will be in the constellation of Boötes. Meteors will be visible all night, as Boötes is circumpolar and in the sky all night. Best displays will likely be just after sunset, as the radiant is highest in the sky around 22:00 BST.

Moon

First Quarter: 14^th

Full Moon: 22^nd

Last Quarter: 28^th

New Moon: 6^th

The Moon is at perigee, its closest point to the Earth, on the 2^nd and the 27^th, and apogee, its furthest point from the Earth, on the 14^th. This effect is not visually apparent.

The Moon is at aphelion, its furthest point from the Sun, on the 22^nd, and perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, on the 5^th. This effect is not visually apparent.

Points of Interest

The Great Globular Cluster in the constellation of Hercules is well placed for observation on the 2^nd. It reaches its highest point at 01:04 BST in the south, and will be visible all night. You will need binoculars to observe this.

The globular cluster Messier 12 in the constellation of Ophiuchus is well placed for observation on the 4^th. It will reach its highest point at 01:01 BST in the south, and will be visible all night. You will need binoculars to observe this.

The globular cluster Messier 10 in the constellation of Ophiuchus is well placed for observation on the 6^th. It will reach its highest point at 01:03 BST in the south, and will be visible all night. You will need binoculars to observe this.

The globular cluster Messier 92 in the constellation of Hercules is well placed for observation on the 11^th. It will reach its highest point around midnight, and will be visible all night. You will need a small telescope to observe this.

The open star cluster IC 4665 in the constellation of Ophiuchus is well placed for observation on the 18^th. It will reach its highest point at 01:01 BST in the south, and will be visible all night. You will need binoculars to observe this.

The June solstice, the longest day, takes place on the 20^th.

The open star cluster NGC 6633 in the constellation of Ophiuchus is well placed for observation on the 28^th. It will reach its highest point at 01:03 BST in the south, and will be visible all night. You will need binoculars to observe this.

Visit https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/ to find out when the International Space Station will be visible from your location.

Last updated: April 7^th