Sky & Telescope - June 2022 - 47

+30°
+40°
4h
2h
TAURUS Pleiades
+10°
0°
Rigel
-20°
-10°
-30°
-40°
ERIDAN US
18
Fomalhaut
10 am
LOCAL TIME OF TRANSIT
8 am
6 am
CAPRICORNUS
4 am
SAGITTARIUS
2 am
Midnight
Venus
Mercury
24
Mars
21
CETUS
Neptune
Jupiter
AQUARIUS
LIBRA
Saturn
June
13 - 14
Antares
SCO RPIUS
10 pm
8 pm
6 pm
4 pm
2 pm
-30°
-40°
The Sun and planets are positioned for mid-June; the colored arrows show the motion of each during the month. The Moon is plotted for evening
dates in the Americas when it's waxing (right side illuminated) or full, and for morning dates when it's waning (left side illuminated). " Local time of transit "
tells when (in Local Mean Time) objects cross the meridian - that is, when they appear due south and at their highest - at mid-month. Transits
occur an hour later on the 1st, and an hour earlier at month's end.
SUNDAY, JUNE 5
Each month the Moon passes by a
handful of bright stars as it makes its
way along the ecliptic. One of the best
June encounters occurs this evening
when the waxing crescent sits roughly
4½° above right of 1st-magnitude
Regulus in Leo. It's a pretty, nakedeye
pairing. But if you look carefully,
you might notice a fainter spark just
above the Moon - that's Eta (η) Leonis.
Depending on when you look, the
3.4-magnitude star may be lost in the
lunar glare, so get out your binoculars
once again. Even with modest optical
aid, spotting Eta should be a snap. And
some lucky observers will get to see the
Dawn, June 24
45 minutes before sunrise
ARIES
Moon
June 24
Pleiades
TAURUS
Venus
Mercury
Aldebaran
Looking East
¢ Generally not a fan of morning parades,
Consulting Editor GARY SERONIK
makes a happy exception for those
involving planets.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * JUNE 2022
JUNE 2
47
CETUS
Moon's dark limb eclipse the star. (Turn
to page 49 for details.)
FRIDAY, JUNE 24
For naked-eye skywatchers, the planetary
line-up this morning is quite a bit
more compelling than it was on June
4th, even if that date attracts more publicity.
Yes, it's true that the gap between
the marker planets (Mercury and Saturn)
has grown from 91° to something
closer to 107°, but the spectacle has
improved in two important ways.
First, problem planet Mercury is now
much more conspicuous, glowing at
magnitude -0.2. That's more than eight
times brighter than it was on the 4th.
Jupiter
PISCES
Mars
Just as important, the innermost world
now sits twice as high (12°) above the
east-northeastern horizon at sunrise.
Those two factors make Mercury a
relatively easy naked-eye target. The
second improvement comes courtesy of
the Moon. The earthlit lunar crescent
is attractively positioned this morning
almost exactly midway between Venus
and Mars. Sublime. You can even imagine
the Moon serving as an ersatz Earth
to complete the planetary sequence. Add
in Jupiter, and you have a bright and
beautiful 65½°-long line. This dawn
show might not be as rare as the one on
the 4th, but it's visually more interesting.
Why not set your alarm on both
dates and see if you agree?
SUNDAY, JUNE 26
The final phase of June's parade of
planets would be one of the biggest
highlights in any other month. But,
given the context of everything else
that's going on, this morning's conjunction
might feel a little anticlimactic. For
observers in the Americas, Venus and
the Moon have their closest observable
encounter for 2022 at dawn today. Just
2½° separate the blazing Morning Star
from a razor-thin lunar crescent. It's a
remarkably striking sight that you don't
want to miss, even if it means yet one
more early morning.
9
Spica
CORVUS
HYDRA
CANIS
MAJOR
ARIES
Uranus
PISCES
PEGAS US
AQUILA
OPHIUCHUS
VIRGO
HERCULES
Arcturus
LEO
6
Regulus
Procyon
EQUATOR
0h
RIGHT ASCENSION
CYGNUS
June
3
CANCER
22h
20h
18h
Vega
16h
14h
BOÖTES
12h
10h
8h
Pollux
GEMINI
Castor
6h
+30°
+10°
+20°
Betelgeuse
0°
ORION
-10°
Sirius
-20°
DECLINATION
E
C
L
I
P
T
I
C

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Sky & Telescope - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - June 2022