| 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 21st, 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 Saturday June 12th, which makes that weekend June 12-13 a fantastic weekend for dark sky observing.
The Full Moon for June occurs on June 16th, and is known as the Full Buck Moon or Full Hay Moon. Since it is also the closest Full moon to the Summer Solstice, it is also the Full Honey Moon.
There is also a Umbral Lunar Eclipse at this Full Moon on June 26th. The Eclipse will be visible to the West coast of North and South America, the Pacific, Australia and some parts of Southeast Asia.
Please note: On Quicktime movies below, Window 64-bit may not display the controls to play the movie. Simply double-click on the movie to play.
This movie shows the eclipse as viewed from the Moon. The Area seen of the Earth is the area that can see the Earth’s shadow on the Moon. Each frame is one minute.
This movie shows the eclipse as viewed from Honolulu, Hawaii. Each frame is one minute.
This movie shows the Lunar Eclipse as view from Los Angeles. The moon sets about an hour after the eclipse maximum so the end of the eclipse will be missed by those of us on the West Coast.
From Los Angeles (my local time) the Lunar Eclipse will not be seen to completetion since Sunrise (and Moon Set) occur a bit over an hour after the Eclipse hits its maximum point. Los Angeles time table (PDT) is as follows:
| Partial Penumbra phase begins 01:59:49 (-160 minutes). Partial phase begins 03:18:49 (-81 minutes). Eclipse Maximum 04:39:49 PDT Sunrise in Los Angeles 5:43:29 PDT Partial phase ends 06:00:49 (+81 minutes). Partial Penumbra phase ends 07:19:49 (+160 minutes). |
Mercury is visible as the Morning Star in June until June 19th, when it disappears into the glare of the sunrise.
Mercury begins June in the constellation Aries (The Ram) and on June 5th, crosses into the constellation Taurus (The Bull). On June 25th, hidden by the glare of the Sun, Mercury crosses into the constellation Gemini (The Twins).
Venus is the Evening Star this month.
Venus begins June in the constellation Gemini (The Twins) and on June 12th, croses into the constellation Cancer (The Crab), and finally on June 20th, Venus will move into the constellation Leo (The Lion).
On June 14th, a waxing, crescent Moon will passes within 4°35’ of Venus.
On June 20th, Venus passes through the Beehive Cluster (M44).
Mars is observable in the evening hours of June all month, in the constellation Leo (The Lion).
Mars sets around 12:50 am (PDT) at the start of June, and by the end of the month sets around 11:30 pm (PDT).
June 6th finds Mars in conjunction with the Star Regulus, passing
within 0°50’.
On June 17th, the waxing, crescent Moon passes within 5°50’ of Mars.
Jupiter is observable in the morning hours of June in the constellation Pisces (The Fish). At the start of the month Jupiter rises around 2:15 am (PDT), and by the end of the month, Jupiter sets around 12:20 am (PDT).
On June 5th a waning, crescent Moon will pass less than 5°40’ of Jupiter.
On June 7th, the planets Jupiter and Uranus are in conjunction and
will be less than 0°25’ of each other.
Saturn is located in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden) until December 2012. Saturn is observable from the evening to late evening hours of June. At the start of the month, Saturn set around 2:20 am (PDT) and by the end of the month, Saturn sets around 12:20 am (PDT).
On June 18th, the First Quarter Moon passes within 8°20’ of Saturn.
Uranus can be observed in the constellation Pisces (The Fish) until May 2012. Uranus can be observed during the morning hours of June in the vicinity of Jupiter. Uranus rises around 2:15 am (PDT) at the start of June and by the end of the month rises around 12:20 pm (PDT).
On June 5th a waning, crescent Moon will pass less than 5°15’ of Uranus.
On June 7th, the planets Jupiter and Uranus are in conjunction and will
be less than 0°25’ of each other.
Neptune is found in the constellation Aquarius (The Water Bearer) until August. Neptune rises during the late evening hours of June; rising around 12:30 am (PDT) at the start of the month and around 10:55 pm (PDT) by the end of the month.
On June 3rd, the waning, gibbous Moon passes within 4° of Neptune.
On June 30th, the waning, crescent moon rises about 4° from Neptune.
Pluto is found in the constellation Sagittarius (The Archer) until the year 2023. Pluto is in excellent position to be observed this month since it is up from almost the entire night during June.
6/3/2010 Waning, gibbous Moon passes within 4° of Neptune
6/4/2010 Last Quarter Moon
6/5/2010 Waning, crescent Moon passes less than 5°15′ from Uranus and less than 5°40′ of Jupiter
6/6/2010 Mars in conjunction with the Star Regulus less than 0°50′ from each other.
6/7/2010 Jupiter and Uranus at conjunction less than 0°25′ from each other.
6/12/2010 New Moon
6/14/2010 Waxing, crescent Moon passes within 4°35′ of Venus.
6/17/2010 Waxing, crescent Moon passes within 5°50′ of Mars.
6/18/2010 First Quarter Moon less than 8°20′ from Saturn
6/19/2010 Mercury disappears into the glare of the morning sunrise.
6/20/2010 Venus passes through the Beehive Cluster (M44)
6/21/2010 Summer begins at the Summer Solstice
6/26/2010 Full Buck Moon (Honey Moon) goes into a Umbral Lunar Eclipse as it passes within 7°10′ of Pluto
6/30/2010 Waning, gibbous Moon about 4° of Neptune
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