Superb Skywatching: Moon, Planets, Bright Stars and the June Solstice

You can watch Mars and Venus draw closer together throughout the month in the western sky following sunset. Nearby is brilliant, blue-white star Regulus – the heart of Leo, the lion. And on the 20th through the 22nd the crescent Moon passes through, making an especially lovely grouping at dusk on June 21st. Turning to the morning sky, Saturn and Jupiter rise before dawn, with the Ringed Planet rising around midnight and leading brilliant Jupiter into the new day. Early risers will find them on the eastern side of the sky before sun-up all month long. And you'll find Jupiter rising with the crescent Moon on June 14th. Facing southward early on June evenings, you'll notice two particularly bright stars high in the sky. They are Spica and Arcturus. Blue-white Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, the maiden. It's located about 250 light years away, and is actually two stars orbiting each other every 4 days at a distance far closer than Mercury orbits our Sun. Orange giant Arcturus is the brightest star in Bootes, the herdsman. It's the fourth brightest star in the sky. It's much closer than Spica, at a distance of about 37 light years. It's also quite an old star, compared to our Sun, at an age of 7-8 billion years. June 21 is the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, and Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. For the north, it's the longest day of the year, as the Sun traces its highest, longest path across the sky. More hours of sunlight, in addition to the more direct angle of the Sun overhead, translate into warmer summertime temperatures for our planet's summer hemisphere. The situation is reversed for those living south of the equator, where it's the shortest day of the year, during the cool months of winter. Thanks for watching!