Star watching guidance from our friends at OMSI
The biggest show occurs at the end of June, as Venus and Saturn pass less than one degree from each other. Toward the end of the month of June, look for two bright “stars” very close low in the western sky. Venus is the brightest of the two at magnitude -4.43, and Saturn is at magnitude 0.43. Their closest approach occurs on June 30, when they will be just 0.7 degrees apart, the smallest conjunction of two naked-eye planets all year.
With binoculars or a low magnification telescope you can easily see both Venus and Saturn at the same time. Through the binoculars, Saturn will appear oval-shaped because the binoculars cannot resolve the rings from the disk of the planet. Through a telescope, look for Saturn’s beautiful rings. Venus also might not look entirely round in a telescope. Because it orbits closer to the Sun than the Earth, Venus goes through phases, similar to the way the Moon seems to change shape. Between June 1 and June 30, Venus goes from a quarter phase to a crescent phase. The star Regulus of Leo, the Lion, will be just 7 degrees to the upper left of the conjunction.
To catch all the action, be sure to go outside early, before 9:00 pm. The celestial line-up starts setting in the west not long after. June 30 is also the date of the Full “Strawberry” Moon in June at 5:49 a.m. PDT.
Far away from the action, giant Jupiter is rising in the southeast in the early evening. Second only to Venus in brightness (except for the Moon), Jupiter is another great telescopic sight. Even with just a good pair of binoculars, can spot its four biggest moons. The star Antares is just 5.43 degrees to the lower left of the gas giant in June and July.
On June 27, the waxing gibbous moon will be just 1.23 degrees from the red star Antares of Scorpion.
