Section updated: Jun. 1st, 2026
The summer solstice is getting closer and closer, as it doesn’t really get dark until 8:30 pm. Below is shown what our sky would be like by 8:45 pm on the 5th! The main bright objects of our Galaxy appear near our horizon then. The multitude of its interesting objects will not be visible to us as they will have to compete with the light pollution from the surrounding cities. But if you look to the west after sunset, you’ll have a chance to see four planets that way!
The planets are Jupiter, which is nearly at the opposite side of the solar system, Venus which is climbing higher and will soon be east of Jupiter, Mercury will make a short appearance, and of course, the planet you are standing on! What we will see for this and next month, will be the region of the sky that is north of our galactic plane, the few globular clusters that orbit on their own planes around the galactic center (below the horizon to the east) and galaxies beyond our own.
To the west, we see the noticeably brighter planet Venus between the Gemini twins until the 11th. Note how as it climbs further away from the Sun for the next few months it gets progressively brighter too. We’ll start there in the early evening to observe its waning gibbous phase. Know that ancient Ptolemy, who wrote the Almagest, had insisted that it orbited on an epicycle around a fixed mid-point between the Earth and the Sun. But Galileo argued that if Venus did so, then all we would ever see of it would be its thin crescent phase as we would forever look upon its night side. So, in order for us to see Venus so fully lit up like it is now, Galileo argued that it must be on the far side of the solar system as it orbits the Sun. In fact, on the 5th, Venus will be 1.2226 au away from us, which is clearly further away than the Sun is. So, viewing Venus early in the evening will give you a chance to personally eyewitness proof that the Earth is not at the center of the solar system! Venus will pass eastwards by Jupiter on the 9th and exit Gemini’s realm on the 11th.
Also appearing with the twins is the planet Jupiter with its 4 moons appearing near its sides will be there and little Mercury.
We’ll look at the triple dividing open cluster M48, Messier's Lost Cluster (M47), Caroline's Cluster (NGC 2360).
In Cancer the crab we’ll find M44 Praesepe, aka the Beehive clusters. If the sky is cooperative and we’re ambitious, we can try for the variety of galaxies later on, such as M84, 86, 87, 89, 58, 60. There will also be globular clusters, such as M53, NGC5634 in Virgo, NGC4590 in Hydra, NGC 5897 in Libra, M5 in Serpens Caput, far to the south, NGC 5349, aka Ω Centauri. And still later on, M13 & M92 in Hercules.
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Moon Occults Venus – Afternoon on June 17th From 4:05 pm on June 17th, until 5:25:50 pm, our Moon will occult the planet Venus. This will be an event that will be challenged by the bright daytime blue sky when it happens, if the clouds clear away. Shown to the left would be a view as it emerges from behind the Moon. The red circle is the field of view of one of our eyepieces. Later in the evening the same day, the Moon will occult M44, “Praesepe” or the Beehive cluster, as they set around 10 pm. |
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Summer Solstice – June 21st Right on Father’s Day, the Sun will reach its highest position in the sky Look how close it will appear to be to our zenith then, less than 3° away! Its position here defines the beginning of northern summer, and the beginning of our nights getting longer! The solstice position occurs just to the north of the constellation Orion. When I make these pictures, I can’t help but see the constellation of the great hunter as an athlete here, playing a game of Lacrosse, with his stick held high up as he reaches to catch the Sun passing overhead. Yet every year, he misses it and the Sun appears to move on each subsequent day! |
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Target Observations for Tuesday’s June 23rd’s Session:
By the 23rd, the first image’s view will appear different in that Venus will appear more eastwards, with Jupiter and Mercury further west. While our waxing gibbous Moon will be south of Virgo’s bright star Spica.
This is the time of year to try for the fainter objects of the sky. Such as in Cancer the crab we’ll find M44 Praesepe, aka the Beehive clusters. If the sky is cooperative and we’re ambitious, we can try for the variety of galaxies later on, such as M84, 86, 87, 89, 58, 60. There will also be globular clusters, such as M53, NGC5634 in Virgo, NGC4590 in Hydra, NGC 5897 in Libra, M5 in Serpens Caput, far to the south, NGC 5349, aka Ω Centauri.
And near midnight, M13 & M92 in Hercules, the Ring Nebula M57 in Lyra will be near the meridian, as more of the multitude of objects of the Milky Way Galaxy swings into our view!
