Summer Skywatching Season Begins with the Crescent Moon, Mars, Venus and Bright Stars
Key Highlights :
As the summer solstice approaches, the night sky offers a celestial assembly of the moon, two bright stars, and two bright planets. This week, the stars of Gemini will be joined by the crescent moon, Mars and Venus, making for a spectacular skywatching feast.
On Monday, June 19, look low on the west-northwest horizon about 45-60 minutes after sunset to find a slender sliver of a crescent moon, less than two days after new phase. Above the moon will be the stars Pollux and Castor, marking the heads of the Twin Brothers, Gemini. Pollux is now brighter than Castor, appearing more than twice as bright. Castor is actually a system of six stars, two of which can be seen with a telescope.
The following evening, the crescent moon will have shifted away to the upper left of the Twin stars and will be situated roughly a dozen degrees to the lower right of the dazzling planet Venus. Venus outshines everything in the evening sky, except for the moon itself, shining at magnitude -4.6.
On Wednesday, June 21, the summer solstice and first official day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere, the moon, stars and planets will be at their most pleasing. About an hour before the sun sets, face due west and look about halfway up in the sky to find the crescent moon. The moon will be just a little over one fist's width in the sky away from Venus.
Mars will also be visible, about 4 degrees to the upper left of Venus, appearing to shine rather feebly at magnitude +1.7. A dozen degrees to the upper left of Mars will be the bluish 1st-magnitude star Regulus, brightest star of Leo the Lion. The moon, Venus, Mars and Regulus will form a rather wide isosceles triangle.
To see the planets and stars in all their glory, you may want to invest in a telescope. We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide.
As the summer progresses, Venus will seem to be racing eastward each night but will never quite catch up with Mars. From June 19 through July 10, Mars undergoes a "quasi-conjunction" with Venus, appearing closest together on July 1, when they will be separated by just 3.57 degrees.
So, as the summer solstice approaches, take the time to look up at the night sky and enjoy the celestial assembly of the moon, stars and planets. You won't be disappointed!
