| June is the sixth month in the Gregorian calendar and consists of 30 days. The month of June is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter. |
Summer begins on June 20th (22:46 PDT) when the Summer Solstice occurs. The Summer Solstice occurs when the tilt of the Earth is pointed directly toward the Sun. This point marks the beginning of Summer. The Summer Solstice has the longest amount of daylight and the shortest night.
The New Moon for June occurs on Monday, June 22nd, which will make the weekend of June 20-21 the best weekend for dark sky viewing.
The Full Moon for June occurs on June 7th, and is known as the Full Strawberry Moon or Rose Moon.
Mercury is located in the constellation Taurus (The Bull) for the entire month.
The Planet Mercury is observable during the morning hours all month
and reaches its Greatest Western Elongation on June 13 for the best
morning view in this orbit. On this date, Mercury will be 23°27′17″
from the sun.
On June 12th, Mercury will pass within 8° of the asterism Pleiades (M45).
Venus is the Morning Star all month and will reach its Greatest Western Elongation on June 5th, and will be 45°50′58″ from the sun. Venus begins June in the constellation Pisces (The Fish) until June 9th when it briefly crosses through the constellation Cetus (The Sea Monster). The next day, June 10th, Venus moves into the constellation Aries (The Ram) until it crosses into the constellation Taurus (The Bull) on June 28th, where it will spend the rest of the month.
June 19th, will find Venus, Mars and a waning, crescent moon within
7°15′ of each other.
Mars is observable in the morning hours of June, rising around 3:40 am (PDT) at the beginning of the month and rising around 2:45 am (PDT) by the end of the month. Mars is located in the constellation Aries (The Ram) for the entire month of June.
June 19th, will find Mars, Venus and a waning, crescent moon within 7°15′ of each other.
On June 22, Mars and Venus will be in conjunction less than 1°50′ apart.
Jupiter is located in the constellation Capricorn (The Sea Goat) until January 2010. Jupiter is observable from the very late evening until sunrise this month. At the beginning of June Jupiter rises around 12:50 am (PDT) and by the end of the month Jupiter will rise around 10:50 pm (PDT).
Jupiter, Neptune and a waning, gibbous moon will come to conjunction
on June 13 being less than 3° from each other.
On June 15, Jupiter will start retrograde motion and will continue to appear moving eastward across the stars until October 12th, when it will resume apparent normal motion.
Saturn is observable during the evening and late hours of June. Saturn sets around 1:40 am (PDT) at the beginning of the month and sets around 11:50 pm by the end of the month. Saturn is located in the constellation Leo (The Lion) until September.
Uranus is located in the constellation Pisces (The Fish) until October. Uranus can be observed during the morning hours this month. Uranus rises around 2:10 am (PDT) at the start of June and by the end is ring around 12:15 am (PDT).
June 15, 2009 - The relative position of Uranus in the sky for mid-June.
Neptune is located in the constellation Capricornus (The Sea Goat) until the year 2010. Neptune is observable during the morning hours of June, rising around 12:45 am (PDT) at the start of the month and rises around10:45 pm (PDT) by the end of June.
Jupiter, Neptune and a waning, gibbous moon will come to
conjunction on June 13 being less than 3° from each other.
Neptune is moving in retrograde motion until November 5th.
Pluto is observable all night, all month and is located in the constellation Sagittarius (The Archer) until the year 2023. Pluto is moving in retrograde motion until September 12th.
June 15, 2009 - The relative position of Pluto in mid-June.
6/5/2009 Venus reaches its Greatest Western Elongation. (45d50m58s)
6/7/2009 Full Strawberry Moon
6/12/2009 Mercury less than 8° of the asterism Pleiades (M45)
6/13/2009 Mercury reaches its Greatest Western Elongation (23d27m17s)
6/13/2009 Conjunction with Jupiter, Neptune and Waning, giggous moon - less than 3° from each other.
6/15/2009 Last Quarter Moon
6/15/2009 Jupiter begins retrograde motion
6/19/2009 Conjunction with Venus, Mars and Waning, crescent moon - less than 7°15′
6/20/2009 Summer Solstice
6/21/2009 Mercury rises within 6°30′ of waning, crescent moon
6/22/2009 New Moon
6/22/2009 Venus and Mars in conjunction - less tha 1°50′ from each other
6/27/2009 Saturn sets less tha 8°25′ from waxing, crescent moon
6/29/2009 First Quarter Moon
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