Skylights: June 2025

Sun

June brings the shortest nights, with the solstice occurring at 10:42pm on the 20th. The earliest sunrise is at 5:10am on the 14th, and the latest sunset is at 8:24pm on the 27th. In the days in between, astronomical darkness is barely 4.5 hours.

The Sun crosses the galactic equator during the morning of the 21st, and begins a 29-day trek through Gemini about three hours later.

Moon

The first evening of June gives us a pairing of the Moon and Regulus, with the Moon passing as close at 0.5° to the north of Leo’s brightest star at about midnight. The Moon is first quarter at 11:41pm on the 2nd.

The waxing gibbous Moon pairs with Spica, in Virgo, on the 5th-6th, and on the 9th, it joins Antares, in Scorpius.

The Moon is full at 3:44am on the 11th. Known as the Strawberry Moon due to its proximity to the strawberry harvest, this month’s full Moon is notable for residing in the non-zodiacal constellation Ophiuchus, despite it being 5.8° south of the ecliptic.

The Moon rises at 8:21pm on the 10th, just one minute after sunset. Located between Antares in Scorpius and Alnasl, the star marking the archer’s arrowhead as well as the end of the spout of the teapot asterism of Sagittarius, the Moon transits the meridian at 12:37am on the 11th, during which time it will be just 19.4° above the southern horizon (for latitude 41.85°N), making this the most southerly full Moon of the year. But if you miss the Strawberry Moon, next month’s Buck Moon is just 0.1° higher. The Moon sets at 4:50am, 20 minutes before sunrise.

Last quarter Moon is at 3:19pm on the 18th, in Pisces.

On the 19th, the waning crescent Moon joins Saturn and Neptune. Saturn is 3.5° to the west-southwest, and Neptune is 2.4° to the southwest of the Moon at 2:00am.

On the 22nd, the 13.4% illuminated waning crescent is 6.0° north of Venus, and on the 23rd, the 6.3% illuminated crescent with Earthshine is 2.3° east of the Pleiades.

The Moon is new at 6:32am on the 25th, marking the start of Lunation 1267. Try for a 14-hour young, 0.5% illuminated Moon about 20 minutes after sunset.

The 3.2% crescent will be easier to find on the following evening, the 26th, when it is positioned  midway between Mercury to its left and Pollux to its right.

While it may be somewhat challenging to observe, the following evening, the 27th, has the 8.7% crescent Moon within 3° of the Beehive cluster, M44, in Cancer. Use larger binoculars or a small telescope that provides a wide field of view to best see this pairing.

Mercury

June presents a favorable opportunity to observe Mercury in the evening sky. Having passed superior conjunction at the end of last month, one week into June it becomes visible in the west-northwest about 30 minutes after sunset.

Using Jupiter as a guide, find Mercury positioned horizontally 2.4° towards the north on the 7th. On the 8th, it is a bit closer, at 2° to the north, at about the one-o'clock position, and on the 9th, it appears almost directly above the giant planet, by 3.0°. 

Mercury is visible for at least an hour after sunset from the 8th, and 90 minutes after sunset by the 17th.

The latest Mercuryset for this apparition is 10:00pm on the 24th.

On the 26th, the 3.1% illuminated waxing crescent Moon joins Mercury in sending off the last remaining winter stars from the evening sky, Pollux and Castor in Gemini. The four objects are in a nearly straight, horizontal line, and spread equidistantly apart from each other, making an interesting target for binoculars and landscape photographers.

Mercury is 50% illuminated on the 28th, displaying a waning crescent over the following days.

Venus

Venus is the dazzlingly bright “Morning Star” in June, rising at least two hours before sunrise. It is at its maximum elongation of 45.9° west of the Sun and is 50% illuminated at the beginning of June. From now through its next superior conjunction early next year, Venus will show a waxing gibbous phase through a telescope.

The waning crescent Moon is 6.0° north of Venus on the 22nd. 

Venus is in Pisces through the 9th, will be in Cetus on the morning of the 10th, then moves through Aries for 18 days, when it enters Taurus on the 28th.

Venus ends the month located 8.0° south-southwest of the Pleiades cluster, and 5.0° southwest of Uranus.

Mars

The Red Planet is sufficiently distant to prevent meaningful observations of its sub-5 arcsecond disk with a telescope, but it remains easily visible to the naked eye and is worth watching as it moves through Leo and spends some time with Leo’s brightest star Regulus this month.   

Mars is closest to Regulus on the 16th and 17th, when it will be just 0.8° from the class B7 blue star. Binoculars or a small telescope will reveal the striking color contrast of this pair, which match each other in brightness at about magnitude 1.4.

Mars continues to trek eastward, and is joined by the 24.1% waxing crescent Moon on the 29th.

Jupiter

During early June, Jupiter can be found low in the west-northwest after sunset. It joins Mercury from the 6th to the10th, passing as close as 2° south of the innermost planet on the 8th.

Although not readily apparent to us, Jupiter enters Gemini on the 11th, and will spend the next year within the celestial twins.

Jupiter leaves our evening sky in June, passing superior conjunction on the 24th. The giant planet will spend 15 hours occulted by the solar disk before emerging on the western side, but it will be difficult for us to observe until the second week of July.

Saturn

Saturn has emerged from the glow of twilight and is now visible low in the east-southeast in the early morning.

Shadow transits of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, which began in November 2024 but have all been hidden by daylight, will start to become visible on June 16. The transit begins on Saturn’s western limb at about 4:05am, during nautical twilight. It will take about 15 minutes before the full shadow disk becomes apparent. A large telescope and high magnification will work best to reveal this event. Subsequent shadow transits, which occur every 16 days, will become more favorable to eastern North American observers as they will occur in darker skies and when Saturn is higher in elevation.

Saturn is at western quadrature on the 22nd. It is the weeks surrounding quadrature that offer the best views of the three-dimensionality of the Saturnian system due to the maximum offset of the shadow angles. Since Saturn just passed equinox, and the ring plane angle remains at a shallow 4.0° from Earth’s perspective, the shadow cast by the rings on Saturn’s globe are difficult to observe, but the shadow of the globe on the rings produces a distinct “gap” that is easily visible in any telescope that can produce about 100x magnification.

Also note that Saturn is now in proximity to Neptune, and will be through early 2026. During the second half of June, find the magnitude 7.8 ice giant just 1.0° north of Saturn.

The waxing crescent Moon is 3.5° to the north-northeast on the 19th. Neptune reaches its western quadrature 14 hours after Saturn.

Uranus

Uranus resides in Taurus, about 4.0° south of the Pleiades cluster, and is too low in twilight to observe until the latter half of the month.

Venus is 5.0° southwest of Uranus on the 30th.

Neptune

Neptune is in Pisces, and is easy to locate due to its proximity to Saturn. In early June, find distant Neptune 1.6° north-northeast of the ringed planet, and by month’s end, the distance closes to within 1.0° due north.

The waning crescent Moon is 2.4° northeast of Neptune on the 19th.

Minor Planets

Pluto is well-placed for observation during late evenings in June, but it is located in a fairly remote region of southeastern Capricornus, requiring a bit of a trek to locate unless you use a Go To mount. The magnitude 14.5 dwarf planet is 8.3° south of Dabih (beta Capricorni), 5.3° west-northwest of psi Capricorni, and 1.7° north of NGC 6907, a magnitude 11.1 spiral galaxy that lies 115 million light years away.

Ceres is in Cetus, and shines at magnitude 9.2. To find Ceres, look 8.0° south-southeast of Saturn to find magnitude 4 iota Ceti. From this star, Ceres is located towards the east-northeast, and moving eastward about 0.3° per day. On the 4th, it is 4.2° away, 6.2° on the 10th, 8.0° on the 18th, and 9.6° on the 25th.

Ceres closes to within 3 au after the 19th.

4 Vesta, which reached opposition in early May, remains fairly bright at magnitude 5.9, and well-positioned in eastern Virgo, in the vicinity of Syrma (iota Virginis). It is 3.3° east-northeast of the star on June 1. During the second half of June, it remains roughly equidistant from Syrma to its west and the magnitude 10.0 globular cluster NGC 5634 to its east, as it moves southward, ending its retrograde loop. It lies roughly along the line connecting mu Virginis and Syrma on the 21st and 22nd.

Asteroid 2 Pallas is inside of 3 au from Earth beginning on June 3, and begins its retrograde loop through Delphinus. It shines at 10th magnitude, and appears to draw a loop around the globular cluster Caldwell 42 (NGC 7006), spending much of the month about 1° from the cluster. During June 5-8, Pallas passes by the Toadstool asterism, appearing to hop over its mushroom cap.

Stars

June brings us the latest sunsets and the earliest sunrises, and therefore, the shortest periods of darkness. Astronomical dark spans as little as 4.5 hours for observers at our latitude of about 42° north during much of the month.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the last of winter’s stars remain visible for a brief time after dusk during June evenings. Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini, don’t completely depart our evening sky until early July.

There is also still some time to observe some of spring’s best galaxies during June, as Leo, Virgo, Coma Berenices and Ursa Major remain well-positioned during early evening hours in June.

The Blaze Star, T Coronae Borealis, is high in the south during June evenings, and still well above the horizon early in the mornings. As we approach the next anticipated outburst, which we’re still not sure when it will occur, it will be easier to note any changes in its brightness. Make T CrB part of your nightly sky tour by pointing your binoculars or telescope at it. During its quiescent stage, it hovers around 10th magnitude, but when it flares, it will briefly become nearly as bright as Alphecca, the brightest star in the Northern Crown that lies 4.5° to its west.

As the Sun crosses the galactic equator in June, the opposite side of the Milky Way galaxy, the broader and brighter interior sections, are best positioned for Earth’s night-facing hemisphere. The core of the Milky Way, along with its host constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius, come into view during June evenings, and is high in the south after midnight. During Summer Milky Way season, devote at least one moonless night to find someplace dark, take nothing but the simplest telescope or just binoculars, don’t make a plan, and just cruise the sights of the galaxy. 

Finally, while June nights may be notable for their celestial sights, they may be more anticipated for the lights that emerge from the forests and meadows this time of year–the fireflies. Our favorite glowing beetles herald the start of summer, but their silent, rhythmic blinking is not with us for very long, as they’re usually active from late June through early July, so go out to see them while they’re here; also, the good thing is, we do not need clear skies to enjoy them.