Current Night Sky: June 2020

The June solstice occurs on June 20, at 5:44 pm EDT, as the Sun reaches its northernmost declination on the celestial sphere; by convention, this is considered the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Moon & Planets: 
sky chart

Just before dawn on the 9th, the Moon joins Jupiter and Saturn. Each day the Moon's motion carries it further eastward (to the left); by the 12th, it will be passing below Mars (June 9, 2020, 4:00 am EDT).

sky chart

This month, the stars and constellations of summer are rising early in the east. By late evening, the "Summer Triangle" – composed of the stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb, is halfway to the zenith (overhead point). The Milky Way runs through that region and continues south toward Antares and Shaula in Scorpius (June 15, 2020, 10:00 pm EDT).

Moon Venus occultation

On the 19th, the very narrow crescent Moon occults – or passes in front of – Venus. As seen through a telescope, Venus, too, is revealed to be a narrow crescent. The Moon is only about 22° from the Sun, and so presents a thin sliver. The unilluminated portion of the lunar disk may be visible due to earthlight – sunlight reflected off Earth's day side to light up the dark portion of the lunar disk. Venus disappears behind the Moon’s left limb at 3:21 am EDT, and reappears from behind the upper left of the Moon at 4:07 am EDT (June 19, 2020, 4:10 am EDT).

Evening Planets (after sunset): 
  • Mercury, W
Morning Planets (before sunrise): 
  • Jupiter, SW
  • Saturn, S
  • Neptune, SE
  • Mars, SE
  • Uranus, E
  • Venus, E
Comets: 

There are no naked-eye comets currently visible.

Meteors: 

There are no significant meteor showers in June.

Phases of the Moon: 
Full Moon June 5 3:12 pm EDT
Last Quarter Moon June 13 2:24 am EDT
New Moon June 21 2:41 am EDT
First Quarter Moon June 28 4:16 am EDT

Text, graphics, and animations by John Sheff. Graphics courtesy of Starry Night(©) Pro Plus 7 / Imaginova(©) Corp. Starry Night images are used with permission from Imaginova Corp. Starry Night is a registered trademark of Imaginova Corp. Star charts generated by Starry Night Pro Plus 7 © Imaginova Corp. All rights reserved. www.StarryNight.com