Tour June’s Sky: Three Planets at Nightfall

Sky & Telescope's astronomy podcast takes you on a guided tour of the night sky. After the Sun sinks from view, enjoy watching Mars and Saturn near Scorpius in the southeast and Jupiter near Leo well up in the southwest.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, June is a minimalist month for stargazing because nights are so short. The solstice, when daylight is longest, comes on the 20th at 6:34 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Planet-wise, most all the action occurs in the evening sky. After sunset you’ll find Jupiter dominating the southwest part of the sky, about halfway up, while over in the east peachy-colored Mars is an unmistakable beacon. Mars and Jupiter appear almost equally bright. Saturn is lower left of Mars by about twice the width of your fist at arm’s length. It has a creamy-white color and is only about a fifth as bright as Mars.

Brilliant Mars and bright Saturn frame the head of Scorpius on June evenings.
Sky & Telescope diagram

In between Mars and Saturn lies the head of Scorpius and its reddish heart, Antares. This star’s name quite literally means “anti-Ares,” Ares being the name for Mars in Greek mythology. The ancients saw Antares and Mars as rivals for attention.

Compare the brightness of Saturn with that of the bright star Arcturus, about three fists above Spica, almost overhead at nightfall. They’re almost equal right now, though Saturn might look dimmer when near the horizon because its light has to pass through more atmosphere to reach you.

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