June 2026 Calendar
At any moment of the day, countless awe-inspiring celestial events are unfolding in the sky. With a universe of options, it can be hard to pin down what to observe. The purpose of this calendar is to provide a peek into what’s happening in the sky and in the world of astronomy in general and provide a quick list of highlights that can jump start your own explorations.
June 9 – Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter
Planetary enthusiasts will have lots to look at in June’s skies, but the highlight for many will surely be the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter that is set to take place June 9th. To the naked eye, this close approach will manifest as two brilliant points of light very near each other in the western sky shortly after sunset within the Gemini constellation. The pair have been slowly inching toward each other for a while as Venus moves away from the horizon and Jupiter marches toward it. At peak conjunction the visual distance between the two will be about the width of the tip of your pinky when held at arm’s length. Although this is a great naked eye event, a modest telescope may reveal some interesting planetary details like Jupiter’s impressive cloud belts, its turbulent Great Red Spot or any of the four Galilean moons.
Jupiter captured by astrophotographer Saul Alejandro with the aid of an Explore Scientific 52° Series Waterproof 6.5mm eyepiece.
June 10 – Daytime Arietid Meteor Shower Peaks
Meteor showers are mostly thought of as a nighttime phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean meteors aren’t sometimes zipping across the sky during the day. The Arietids, which are largely regarded as the most active daytime meteor shower, are currently taking their annual turn through the sky. As their name suggests, the Arietids’ radiant point is in the Aries constellation, which lies low in the east before sunrise. This often-missed shower likely has an impressive hourly meteor rate of around 60+ meteors per hour, but almost all of those are lost in the light once the Sun pops above the horizon. Early risers might have a chance to catch a rare peek at an Arietid meteor shortly before dawn around June 10th.
June 10 & 11 – Moon and Saturn Cozy Up
For the next notable meet-up, we will move to the morning sky as the ringed-beauty Saturn makes a close approach to the crescent Moon in the Pisces constellation a few hours before sunrise on June 10th and 11th.
June 15 – Mercury at Greatest Elongation
Mercury will be in a prime position for early evening viewing as it reaches its greatest elongation on June 15th. Because it is always so close to the Sun, Mercury is usually lost in its glare. But on this day the inner planet will reaches its greatest eastern elongation or furthest point to the east of the Sun, which means more visibility for observers in both hemispheres. A clear western horizon is essential for viewing Mercury, which will be visible as a bright point of light to the naked eye.
Mid-month - Planetary Parade
Shortly after sunset in the middle of June, be sure to look toward a clear western horizon for a chance to capture the crescent Moon trailed by Venus, Jupiter and the often-elusive Mercury.
June 21 – June Solstice
Even if you can‘t make it to Stonehenge, you can still mark the June solstice on the 21st. At 08:24 Universal Time, the Sun will reach its northernmost point in the sky, which means the Northern Hemisphere will enjoy its longest day and shortest night while the Southern Hemisphere sees its shortest day and longest night. For many, the event also unofficially marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
June 26-27 – Moon Points the Way to Antares
Near the end of the month, the waxing gibbous Moon and the red supergiant Antares will be making a close pass. Even though they do not really share celestial real estate, it will seem like they do as they move closer together until they are visually separated by mere degrees. The binary star system Antares, which means “Rival of Mars” in Greek, is often mistaken for Mars due to its similar reddish hue. Generally identified as the 16th brightest star in the sky, Antares is an irregular variable with a red-orange glow that makes it truly pop. Closer observations with a moderate telescope could reveal its blue companion star, which can be highly challenging to discern.
June 29 – Strawberry Moon Visits the Teapot
The month will wrap up with the Strawberry Moon paying a visit to the Sagitarrius constellation’s famous Teapot asterism. There are eight stars that form the asterism. Kaus Borealis marks the point of the teapot’s lid, while Kaus Australis and Kaus Media define the body of the teapot along with Zeta Sagittarii, a binary star system with a white giant primary, and Phi Sagittarii, a giant with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.17. At the tip of the teapot’s spout lies Gamma Sagittarii, a binary system with an orange giant that also acts as the tip of the archer’s arrow. The two stars that outline the handle of the teapot are Sigma Sagittarii, a fast rotating dwarf that is the second brightest star in the constellation, and the orange giant Tau Sagittarii. Those wanting some deep sky treats might want to return to the neighborhood once the overwhelming light of the Full Moon takes its leave to seek out the Lagoon Nebula. The Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8) is Sagittarius’ largest and is best viewed with low magnification. Located about three finger-widths above the tip of the teapot’s spout, this emission nebula covers an area that is about 110 by 50 light years in size and is one of a few star-forming nebulae that can be seen by the unaided eye. The massive glowing cloud is split by a dark lagoon-like rift, which gives it its name. Its numerous high points include some prominent dark nebulae and a nice open cluster.
Astrophotographer Andrew Fryhover captured this image of the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex with a DSLR and medium telephoto lens under Bortle 1 skies in Texas.
CONSTELLATION SPOTLIGHT: Ophiuchus
Although it rides the celestial equator like all of the Zodiac constellations, the often-overlooked Ophiuchus is actually a member of the Hercules family of constellations. Visible from 80° north to 80° south, Ophiuchus covers a 948 square degree area filled with a plethora of stellar and deep sky offerings that make it a perfect target for a long night of stargazing. Far from the Serpent Bearer’s brightest, Barnard’s Star is one of its most well known residents. One of the fastest-moving stars in the sky, this red dwarf flare star, which has an apparent magnitude of 9.54, is the fourth closest known individual star to our Sun. Ophiuchus’ brightest star is Rasalhague, which has an apparent magnitude of 2.07. This binary system consists of a white giant star and an orange main sequence dwarf. A few other options include Sabik, a challenging-to-resolve binary of two white dwarfs with an apparent magnitude of 2.43; Zeta Ophiuchi, a blue variable star; Delta Ophiuchi, a red giant that forms a naked eye double with the yellow giant Epsilon Ophiuchi; Beta Ophiuchi, an orange giant; Theta Ophiuchi, a multi-star system with a spectroscopic binary; and 70 Ophiuchi, a binary system with two orange dwarf stars. Although it is a star no longer, Kepler’s Supernova remnant is another notable inhabitant of the Ophiuchus Constellation. The supernova was originally observed in 1604 and was the brightest object in the sky besides the Moon for weeks.
The constellation’s abundance of star offerings can easily fill a night of observing, but Ophiuchus also has a bounty of deep sky beauties that demand their chance in the eyepiece. One of the most striking might be the Dark Horse Nebula, a dark nebula that obscures part of the Milky Way’s upper central bulge. Appearing as a silhouette of a horse, this large dark nebula is actually a combination of smaller dark nebulae, including the Pipe Nebula and the Snake Nebula, which has a distinct S-shape.
In terms of clusters, some of the standouts are Messier 10 and the less-concentrated Messier 12, a pair of brilliant globular clusters that lie close to each other and are similarly sized; Messier 19, a very dense oblate globular cluster; IC 4665, a scattered open cluster with about 30 stars that might be visible to the naked eye under a very dark sky; and NGC 6633, an open cluster that is nearly as large as the full Moon and has an apparent magnitude of 4.6. Other deep sky treasures include NGC 6572, a planetary nebula that looks like a colored star at low magnification and can appear blue to some and green to others; the Little Ghost Nebula, a planetary nebula with an apparent magnitude of 12.9 and a distinct ring around the white dwarf at its center; NGC 6240, a faint ultraluminous infrared galaxy with two distinct nuclei and an irregular structure; and the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, a close star-forming regions that is riddled with very young stars.
Want to navigate the night sky with ease?
The Tirion Double-Sided Multi-Latitude Planisphere is a comprehensive sky map for northern hemisphere stargazers located between the equator and latitude 60° north that makes it easy to identify what constellations and major celestial objects are up in your night sky based on the date and time.
This night sky guide, which features maps crafted by noted celestial cartographer Wil Tirion, uses a double-sided design to minimize the distortion that is inherent to any polar-centered projection. This design choice means observers can see truer representations of the constellations located outside the equator (noted by a green line) by simply flipping the planisphere over.
In addition to showcasing constellations, this planisphere indicates the location of notable variable stars, open clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Other features include a line representing the ecliptic, a faint blue band for the Milky Way and a magnitude scale that indicates the brightness of the stars that are shown.
This astronomy planisphere is made of durable plastic that easily wipes clean, and the rotating components are secured with sturdy brass rivets for smooth manipulation. Guidance for using your sky map is printed on the device for quick reference.