Unfortunately, this month's skies will be more conducive to early risers. At the beginning of June, Saturn is born around 01:45, while Jupiter and Mars, still very close after the recent conjunction, are born around 03:30.
But these two planets will move away quickly – if on the 1st they are only 1,5 degrees from each other (at the distance of an outstretched arm, the space that occupies the little finger), on the 30th they are almost at a distance. 19 degrees.
At the end of the month, Saturn rises around midnight, Jupiter at 01:30 am and Mars an hour later. The planet Venus, on the other hand, is born around 04:30 am throughout the month.
These four planets thus continue to draw a huge straight line in the sky, visible from 04:30 am until dawn. But, if at the beginning of the month this line goes from East to Southeast, with an extension of about 70 degrees, at the end of the month it goes from East-Northeast (ENE) to South, with an extension of more than 100 degrees!
From the 15th, it will still be possible to see the planet Mercury, even before dawn and close to the horizon. This will be the observation challenge of the month, as the planet doesn't even reach a height of 10 degrees, before the brightness of the Sun dazzles us the observation.
As for our Moon, the 7th is in a crescent, while the 14th will be a “super” full moon day.
A “super” moon occurs when the full moon coincides (more or less) with the height of perigee, that is, the closest point between the Moon and the Earth. However, perigee follows the sidereal period of 27,3 days (time it takes the Moon to complete one revolution of the Earth), but because of the Earth's translation around the Sun, the time between two consecutive full moons is slightly longer. – follows the synodic period of 29,5 days. Therefore, only one or two full moons a year coincide with perigee and are “super”.
On the 18th, the Moon passes within about 8 degrees of the planet Saturn, and on the 21st, the Moon passes within about 6,5 degrees of the planet Jupiter. On this day, the solstice also occurs at 10:14 am. This is the day when the Sun will be above the horizon the longest and, as it passes, to the south we see it higher in the sky. This is the day of the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
The next day, the 22nd, the Moon is halfway between Mars and Jupiter, about 7 degrees from each of the two planets.
On the 26th, our natural satellite passes 1,5 degrees above Venus, but it will be on the following day, the 27th, that the Moon, in a very thin wane, passes about 3 degrees above the planet Mercury, making it easier for to locate.
Interestingly, at 5:28 am, it will still be possible to see the International Space Station (ISS), which passes about 13 degrees to the left of these two stars. The ISS appears at 5:21 am southwest, reaches a maximum height of 74 degrees at 5:25 am and disappears around 5:28 am northeast, just to the left of the Moon and Mercury.
The month ends on the 30th, with the Moon at apogee (the point of furthest distance from Earth) reaching the new moon phase.
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