The Planets
Planet Data For June
Click on any planet below to go straight to its section.
The table below shows key data for the planets this month, including rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, apparent size and position data (right ascension and declination).
Events that occur when the sun is below the horizon are shown with a black background and white text. All other events happen when the sun is in the sky and other for not visible for observation.
June offers a mixed bag of planetary viewing, where dedication to a very early morning is the best way to get good viewing. Venus, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all need a very early alarm clock. Mercury and Mars are good evening views but Jupiter is passing behind the sun and so not visible at all.
All of the images below can be opened full screen in a new tab by clicking on them
Mercury
05th June
Mercury sets 40 minutes after the sun so a low-on-the-horizon glimpse is possible. This is the view at 9pm.
15th June
The opportunity gets easier as June progresses. At 9:15 this evening, Mercury is 9° over the WNW horizon.
25th June
The half-day-old moon will be invisible but Mercury shines brightly near Castor and Pollux.
June is a great month for viewing Mercury after sunset. It’s certainly a challenge for the first week or so but becomes much easier as the month progresses. Mercury doesn’t reach maximum elongation until 03 July and the ecliptic is steep, so, especially in the second half of the month, there’s good viewing to be had of this tiny planet.
The view in your eyepiece will reveal a disc that wanes from half to quarter illuminated over the second two weeks of June. At the same time, the disc size grows as the planet moves closer towards us.
Venus
05th June
At 4:30 in the morning – before the early dawn -bright Venus is 9° over the eastern horizon.
15th June
Ten days later sees that height over the horizon increase by just a couple of degrees.
25th June
Little has changed but your telescope will show that the disc has shrunk from 23 to 18 arcseconds across.
The only challenge with seeing Venus this month is being outside early enough to catch a glimpse before it gets lost in the early dawn glare. Keep a steady watch on the bright planet throughout June and you’ll see its disc shrink in size but grow from half to two-thirds illuminated.
Mars
05th June
This 10pm view shows Mars about 1/3rd of the way over the western horizon, not far from Regulus in Leo.
15th June
For a couple of nights now, the Red Planet is within the same eyepiece view as Leo’s brightest star.
25th June
Still at 10pm, we can see that Mars has left Regulus behind and seems to be heading for Virgo.
The Martian disc shrinks below five arcseconds this month, making it appear only a little larger in the eyepiece than Uranus. It is clearly visible and still relatively bright, at magnitude 1.5, but we’ve got many months of waiting now before we get to enjoy exploring its surface features again.
Jupiter
05th June
This view at 9pm shows how close Jupiter is to the sun. It passes behind our star in three weeks and is now unobservable.
15th June
Jupiter sets less than half an hour after the sun this evening.
25th June
Jupiter is behind the sun right now.
We lose the giant planet this month as it travels around the back of the sun on the 24th, known as its superior conjunction. It’ll be the early hours of the morning towards the end of July before we’re able to observe it again.
Saturn
05th June
It’s 4am in this view and Saturn is a third of the way over the southeast horizon.
15th June
Ten days later and it’s higher still.
25th June
This view is also ten pm and Saturn is wedged between Cetus and Pisces.
Saturn’s almost-ringless form is easy to see this month but, like Venus, you’ll need to be outside before June’s early dawn breaks to enjoy it.
Uranus & Neptune
15th June – Uranus
Seeing Uranus will be a battle between its height over the horizon and the early dawn. This is the view at 5am when, for many of us, sunlight will already be flooding the sky.
15th June – Neptune
An hour earlier, at 4am, Neptune is about 1° north of Saturn, making it easy to find and offering a rare chance to see both planets in the same eyepiece.
Both of the ice giants are back available for observation this month but Uranus is a challenge because it doesn’t rise very high before the sun’s dawn rays begin to overwhelm it.
All Planets Viewer
Use the table below to see when each of the planets is observable for each day this month. Click on it for full screen.
A planet is classed as observable when it is more than 10° above the horizon and the sky is dark enough for it to be observed.
Planet ephemeris tables produced with the kind permission of Dominic Ford. Sky images are courtesy of SkySafari Pro 6.