SkyEye: June 2024

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events!

All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest 30 minutes.
Planetary positions are geocentric apparent places, referred to the true equator and equinox of date.

The phases of the in June 2024

Day	Events
1	A telescope will be necessary to observe Neptune as the waning crescent Moon occults it starting at 01:00.
2	The Moon passes through its ascending node and then arrives at perigee today.
3	The Moon is 2.4° north of Mars at 00:30.
4	Mercury moves past Jupiter at 11:30; the two planets are just 0.1° apart. Venus arrives at superior conjunction.
5	The open star cluster M45 (Pleiades) is occulted by the slender crescent Moon at 09:00. Five hours later, the Moon passes 3.7° north of Uranus. Jupiter is next when, at 15:30, the Moon is 4.7° north of the gas giant. The Moon is a similar distance north of Mercury at 19:30 but all of these celestial bodies appear very near to the Sun.
6	The NEW MOON moves past Venus at 15:30 but this event takes place too close to the Sun to be visible.
7	The daytime meteor shower, the Arietids, peaks today. Mars is at solstice, with summer beginning in the southern hemisphere and winter in the north.
8
9	The waxing crescent MOON is 1.7° south of β Gem (Pollux) at 07:30. A little later, Saturn reaches west quadrature.
10	At 07:30, the Moon passes 3.2° north of the open cluster M44 (Beehive).
11
12	The Moon is 3.3° north of the first-magnitude star α Leo (Regulus) at 03:00.
13
14	The FIRST QUARTER reaches its smallest apogee of the year. Mercury undergoes superior conjunction.
15	The Moon passes through its descending node.
16	The waxing gibbous Moon occults the first-magnitude star α Vir (Spica) at 17:30.
17	Mercury and Venus are 0.9° apart at 13:30.
18
19
20	Earth is at a solstice today. At 10:30, the Moon occults the first-magnitude star α Sco (Antares). In other news, both Mercury and Venus attain their maxium declinations north for the year and Neptune reaches west quadrature.
21
22	FULL MOON
23
24	Saturn reaches it maximum northly declination for the year.
25	Saturn's rings reach a minimum opening angle for the year (1.9°) today.
26
27	The June Boötid meteor shower peaks amidst strong moonlight. The Moon reaches its largest perigee of the year today. At 16:00, the waning gibbous Moon passes 0.1° north of Saturn, occulting the planet. This event begins at 13:00.
28	Beginning around 06:30, the LAST QUARTER MOON occults Neptune whilst the planet is at its maximum declination north for this year.
29	The Moon passes through its ascending node.
30	Saturn reaches a stationary point in right ascension and goes into retrograde.

The position of the Sun and planets at mid-June 2024

Sun Taurus → Gemini

Mercury Taurus → Gemini Mercury is heading back toward the eastern horizon as June opens, with southern hemisphere observers having the best chance to see the tiny planet's close approach to Jupiter on 4 June. It undergoes superior conjunction mid-month and soon re-emerges in the evening sky. Its approach of Venus on 17 June takes place too close to the Sun to observe.

Venus Taurus → Gemini Bright Venus is largely absent this month, with superior conjunction occurring on the fourth day of the month. It moves from the morning to the evening sky, where it remains for the rest of the year. However, at sunset, the evening star is very low to the western horizon this month. Mercury flies past at a distance of less than a degree on 17 June but the two planets are only 4° away from the Sun at the time.

Earth and Moon The Arietid meteor shower, which occurs during daylight hours, peaks around 7 June. A nighttime meteor shower, the June Boötides, peaks on 27 June but light from the waning gibbous Moon will likely spoil the show. Neptune is occulted by the Moon twice this month (1 and 28) and Saturn once (on 27 June). The Moon also occults the Pleiades on 5 June but this is a daytime event and not visible. The lunar occultation series of Antares continues, with the star disappearing behind the Moon's disk on 20 June. However, the Moon claims a new victim this month: Spica is occulted on 16 June. This occultation series will continue until late next year. The Moon also reaches its smallest apogee and largest perigee of the year this month.

Mars Pisces → Aries First-magnitude Mars is visible in the morning sky, rising after midnight. At 15:00 on 6 June, the red planet passes 0.5° north of the fourth-magnitude star ο Psc (Torcular).

Jupiter Taurus Jupiter was at conjunction last month and is now found in the east before sunrise. It is just 0.1° away from Mercury at 11:30 on 4 June when the two planets are 12° from the Sun. Shining at magnitude −2.0, the gas giant is 2.0° south of the fourth-magnitude star 37 Tau but observing this may prove impossible in dawn skies.

Saturn Aquarius Saturn is slowly brightening from magnitude +1.2 to +1.1 over the course of the month. It arrives at west quadrature on 9 June and rises before midnight by the end of June. The rings of the planet are at their minimum opening angle (1.9°) for 2024 on 25 June, the day after Saturn reaches it maximum (geocentric) declination north for the year. Beginning around 13:00 on 27 June, Saturn is occulted by the waning gibbous Moon. Retrograde motion in right ascension begins at the end of the month, with retrograde in ecliptic longitude starting in early July.

Uranus Taurus Like Jupiter, Uranus was a conjunction last month and now appears in the morning sky. At sixth-magnitude, it is a difficult object to spot in dawn skies, but southern hemisphere early-risers have the best chance of seeing it before the end of June.

Neptune Pisces A small telescope is necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system; it is best sought from southern hermisphere vantage points. Neptune is occulted the Moon not once but twice this month, on 1 June and again on 28 June. Like Saturn, the blue ice giant also reaches west quadrature in June, on the twentieth. And also like Saturn, Neptune reaches its maximum northerly declination for 2024.