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June 2023 Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky
All times, unless otherwise noted, are UT (subtract four hours and, when appropriate, one calendar day for EDT)
6/1 The Moon is at the descending node at 6:23
6/2 Mars is 0.1 degrees south of the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 18:00
6/3 The Moon is 1.5 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 22:00
6/4 Mercury is at its greatest heliocentric latitude south today; the Moon is at aphelion at 1:58; Venus is at dichotomy (50% illuminated) at 2:56; Full Moon, known as the Rose, Flower, or Strawberry Moon, occurs at 3:42; Mercury is 3 degrees south of Uranus at 5:00; a double Galilean shadow transit begins at 5:09; Mercury at dichotomy at 6:02; Venus is at greatest eastern elongation (45.4 degrees) at 11:00
6/6 Asteroid 11 Parthenope (magnitude +9.5) is at opposition in Ophiuchus at 9:00; the Moon is at perigee, subtending 32.7' from a distance of 364,861 kilometers (226,714 miles), at 23:06
6/7 A double Galilean shadow transit begins at 18:28
6/9 The Moon is 3 degrees south of Saturn at 20:00
6/10 Last Quarter Moon occurs at 19:31
6/11 A double Galilean shadow transit begins at 7:47; the Moon is 2 degrees south of Neptune at 8:00
6/12 The Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to be visible at 10:16
6/13 Venus is 0.6 degrees north of M44 at 15:00
6/14 The earliest sunrise of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today; the Moon is 1.5 degrees north of Jupiter at 7:00; a double Galilean shadow transit begins at 21:06
6/15 The Moon is 2 degrees north of Uranus at 10:00
6/16 The Moon 0.1 degrees south of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 1:00; the Moon is 4 degrees north of Mercury at 21:00
6/17 The earliest onset of morning twilight at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today; Mercury is 4 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 14:00
6/18 New Moon (lunation 1243) occurs at 4:37; a double Galilean shadow transit begins at 10:25; Saturn is stationary, with retrograde motion to begin, at 15:00
6/20 Asteroid 3 Juno is in conjunction with the Sun at 8:00
6/21 The northern hemisphere summer solstice occurs at 14:58
6/22 The Moon is 4 degrees north of Venus at 1:00; the Moon, Venus, and Mars lie within a circle with a diameter of 5 degrees at 8:00; the Moon is 4 degrees north of Mars at 10:00; the Moon is at apogee, subtending 29.5' from a distance of 405,385 kilometers (251,895 miles), at 23:06
6/23 Mercury is at the ascending node today
6/24 The latest end of evening twilight at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today
6/25 The Lunar X (the Purbach or Werner Cross), an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to be visible at 18:51
6/26 First Quarter Moon occurs at 7:50
6/27 The latest sunset of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today; Mercury is at perihelion (0.31 astronomical units from the Sun) at 19:17
The British astronomer Edmund Halley discovered M13 on June 1, 1714. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille discovered the globular cluster M55 on June 16, 1752. A transit of the Sun by Venus was observed by Austrian, British, and French astronomers from various parts of the world on June 6, 1761. The French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the globular cluster M14 on June 1st, 1764, the emission and reflection nebula M20 (the Trifid Nebula) on June 5, 1764, and the open cluster M23 on June 20, 1764. The globular cluster M62 was discovered by Charles Messier on June 7, 1771. The French astronomer Pierre Méchain discovered his first deep-sky object, the spiral galaxy M63 (the Sunflower Galaxy), on June 14, 1779. The German/English astronomer William Herschel discovered the globular cluster NGC 6528 on June 24, 1784. Neptune was independently discovered by the British astronomer John Couch Adams on June 5, 1846. The Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati discovered Comet C/1858 L1 (Donati), the first comet to be photographed, on June 2, 1858. A large storm on Saturn was observed by the American astronomer E. E. Barnard. The Tunguska event occurred on June 30, 1908. The largest known solar flare was recorded on June 27, 1984. The Georgian astronomer Givi Kimeridze discovered a Type Ia supernova in the spiral galaxy M58 on June 28, 1989. Namaka, a satellite of the dwarf planet Haumea, was discovered on June 30, 2005. Kerberos, Pluto’s fourth satellite, was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope team on June 28, 2011.
Information on passes of the ISS, the USAF’s X-37B, the HST, the BlueWalker 3, Starlink, and other satellites can be found at http://www.heavens-above.com/
The Moon is 11.5 days old, is illuminated 88.6%, subtends 31.2 arc minutes, and is located in Virgo on June 1st at 0:00 UT. The Moon is at its greatest northern declination of +27.8 degrees on June 19th and at its greatest southern declination of -27.8 degrees on June 6th. Longitudinal libration is at a maximum of +5.4 degrees on June 14th and a minimum of -6.2 degrees on June 1st and -7.1 degrees on June 29th. Latitudinal libration is at a maximum of +6.6 degrees on June 8th and a minimum of -6.7 degrees on June 21st. The Moon is at perigee on June 6th and June 29th and at apogee on June 22nd. New Moon occurs on June 18th. The Moon passes close to the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 11:00 on June 1st, the first-magnitude star Castor (Alpha Geminorum) at 1:00 on June 3rd, the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 6:00 on June 3rd, the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 11:00 on June 4th, the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 8:00 on June 6th, the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis) at 12:00 on June 10th, the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 16:00 on June 13th, the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 1:00 on June 26th, and the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 19:00 on June 26th. In 2023, 19 lunar occultations are expected to take place, 54 in 2024, 41 in 2025, 46 in 2026, and 22 in 2027. The Moon will occult the second-magnitude star Delta Scorpii from Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and southern Chile on June 3rd. Browse http://www.lunar-occ.../iotandx.htmfor information on this and other lunar occultation events. Visit https://saberdoesthe...does-the-stars/ for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons and https://curtrenz.com/moon.html for Full Moon and other lunar data. Go to https://skyandtelesc...ads/MoonMap.pdf and https://celestron-si...RReeves-web.pdf and https://nightsky.jpl...ObserveMoon.pdf for simple lunar maps. Click on https://astrostrona.pl/moon-map/ for an excellent online lunar map. Visit http://www.ap-i.net/avl/en/start to download the free Virtual Moon Atlas. Consult http://time.unitariu...moon/where.html for current information on the Moon and https://www.fourmila.../lunarform.html for information on various lunar features. See https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4955 a lunar phase and libration calculator and https://quickmap.lro...2vIBvAXwF1SizSg for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Quickmap. Click on https://www.calendar...endar/2023/june for a lunar phase calendar for this month. Times and dates for the lunar crater light rays predicted to occur this month are available at http://www.lunar-occ...o/rays/rays.htm
The Sun is located in Taurus on June 1st. It enters Gemini on June 21st. The Sun reaches its farthest position north for the year on June 21st. It will subtend 31' 28" on that date. There are 15 hours and one minute of daylight at latitude 40 degrees north on that day. At latitude 40 degrees north, the earliest sunrise occurs on June 14th and the latest sunset on June 27th. For an explanation of why this occurs, click on https://www.universa...ise-and-sunset/
Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the major planets and Pluto on May 15th: Mercury on June 1st (magnitude +0.4, 7.8", 44% illuminated, 0.87 a.u., Aries), Venus (magnitude -4.5, 26.7", 43% illuminated, 0.62 a.u., Gemini), Mars (magnitude +1.7, 4.5", 94% illuminated, 2.10 a.u., Cancer), Jupiter (magnitude -2.1, 35.3", 99% illuminated, 5.59 a.u., Aries), Saturn (magnitude +0.7, 17.6", 100% illuminated, 9.46 a.u., Aquarius), Uranus (magnitude +5.9, 3.4", 100% illuminated, 20.49 a.u., Aries), Neptune (magnitude +7.8, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 29.97 a.u., Pisces), and Pluto (magnitude +14.4, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 33.97 a.u., Capricornus).
In the evening, Venus and Mars lie in the west. Mars can be found in the west and Saturn in the east at midnight. Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus are located in the east, Saturn in the south, and Neptune in the southeast in the morning sky.
Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus are all located in Aries as the month begins.
For more on the planets and how to locate them, browse http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/
Summaries on the planets for June can be found at https://www.astronom...onth-june-2023/ and https://earthsky.org..._eid=9e4b41969c
The graphic at https://www.timeandd...lanets/distance displays the apparent and comparative sizes of the planets, along with their magnitudes and distances, for a given date and time.
The rise and set times and locations of the planets can be determined by clicking on https://www.timeandd...stronomy/night/
The dwarf planet/asteroid 1 Ceres shines at eighth magnitude as it heads southeastward through Virgo during June. This denizen of the main asteroid belt passes just northwest of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4365 on June 30th. Asteroid 11 Parthenope (magnitude +9.5) reaches opposition in Ophiuchus on June 6th. Click on http://www.asteroido.../2023_06_si.htm for information on asteroid occultations taking place this month. See https://www.curtrenz.../asteroids.html for additional information on a number of asteroids.
The faint periodic comet 237P/Linear travels northwestward through Aquila this month. This Jupiter-family comet has an orbital period of 6.6 years. Visit http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ and http://www.aerith.ne...t/future-n.html and https://cobs.si/ for additional information on this and other comets visible this month.
A list of the closest approaches of comets to the Earth is posted at http://www.cometogra.../nearcomet.html
A wealth of current information on solar system celestial bodies is posted at http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html and http://nineplanets.org/
Information on the celestial events transpiring each week can be found at https://stardate.org/nightsky and http://astronomy.com/skythisweek and http://www.skyandtel...ky-at-a-glance/
Free star maps for June can be downloaded at http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html and https://www.telescop...thly-Star-Chart and http://www.kenpress.com/index.html
Data on current supernovae can be found at http://www.rochester...y.org/snimages/
Finder charts for the Messier objects and other deep-sky objects are posted at https://freestarcharts.com/messier and https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-ic and http://www.cambridge..._april-june.htm
Telrad finder charts for the Messier Catalog are posted at http://www.custerobs...cs/messier2.pdf and http://www.star-shin...ssierTelrad.htm
Telrad finder charts for the SAC’s 110 Best of the NGC are available at https://www.saguaroa...k110BestNGC.pdf
Information pertaining to observing some of the more prominent Messier galaxies can be found at http://www.cloudynig...ur-astronomers/
Author Phil Harrington offers an excellent freeware planetarium program for binocular observers known as TUBA (Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas), which also includes information on purchasing binoculars, at http://www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm
Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel are two excellent freeware planetarium programs that are available at http://stellarium.org/ and https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start
Deep-sky object list generators can be found at http://www.virtualcolony.com/sac/ and https://telescopius.com/ and http://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php
Freeware sky atlases can be downloaded at http://www.deepskywa...-atlas-full.pdf and https://www.cloudyni...ar-charts-r1021 and https://allans-stuff.com/triatlas/
Forty binary and multiple stars for June: Struve 1812, Kappa Bootis, Otto Struve 279, Iota Bootis, Struve 1825, Struve 1835, Pi Bootis, Epsilon Bootis, Struve 1889, 39 Bootis, Xi Bootis, Struve 1910, Delta Bootis, Mu Bootis (Bootes); Struve 1803 (Canes Venatici); Struve 1932, Struve 1964, Zeta Coronae Borealis, Struve 1973, Otto Struve 302 (Corona Borealis); Struve 1927, Struve 1984, Struve 2054, Eta Draconis, 17-16 Draconis, 17 Draconis (Draco); 54 Hydrae (Hydra); Struve 1919, 5 Serpentis, 6 Serpentis, Struve 1950, Delta Serpentis, Otto Struve 300, Beta Serpentis, Struve 1985 (Serpens Caput); Struve 1831 (Ursa Major); Pi-1 Ursae Minoris (Ursa Minor); Struve 1802, Struve 1833, Phi Virginis (Virgo)
Notable carbon star for June: V Coronae Borealis
Fifty deep-sky objects for June: NGC 5466, NGC 5676, NGC 5689 (Bootes); M102 (NGC 5866), NGC 5678, NGC 5879, NGC 5905, NGC 5907, NGC 5908, NGC 5949, NGC 5963, NGC 5965, NGC 5982, NGC 5985, NGC 6015 (Draco); NGC 5694 (Hydra); NGC 5728, NGC 5791, NGC 5796, NGC 5812, NGC 5861, NGC 5878, NGC 5897 (Libra); M5, NGC 5921, NGC 5957, NGC 5962, NGC 5970, NGC 5984 (Serpens Caput); M101, NGC 5473, NGC 5474, NGC 5485, NGC 5585, NGC 5631 (Ursa Major); NGC 5566, NGC 5634, NGC 5701, NGC 5713, NGC 5746, NGC 5750, NGC 5775, NGC 5806, NGC 5813, NGC 5831, NGC 5838, NGC 5846, NGC 5850, NGC 5854, NGC 5864 (Virgo)
Top ten deep-sky objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, NGC 5907
Top five deep-sky binocular objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5466, NGC 5907
Challenge deep-sky object for June: Abell 2065
The objects listed above are located between 14:00 and 16:00 hours of right ascension.
