Sunrise Sunset

Fri., June 13 5:06 8:16

Sat., June 1 5:06 8:17

Sun., June 15 5:06 8:17

Mon., June 16 5:06 8:17

Tues., June 17 5:06 8:18

Wed., June 18 5:06 8:18

Thurs., June 19 5:06 8:18

Fri., June 20 5:06 8:19

The gibbous moon moves through the southern sky in the evenings ahead. On Monday night the moon appears right under the bright red star Antares in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. Antares is one of the largest and distant stars visible in our evening sky. The star is 600 light years away, twice the distance astronomy books estimated 20 years ago. The star is 10,000 times more luminous than our own Earth. For purposes of comparison, if Antares were our sun, the star’s size exceeds that of Mars’s orbit. Antares is truly a big star. Among astronomers it is called a super giant.

Full moon is on Wednesday, June 18. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls this full moon the Strawberry Moon. The moon spends the night in Sagittarius.

On Thursday, the gibbous moon, just one day after full moon, passes near Jupiter in the zodiacal constellation Sagittarius. The moon stays in close proximity to the evening’s brightest planet on both Thursday and on Friday nights. The two rise late, near midnight.

Mars and Saturn

The early evening planets Mars and Saturn are high in the western sky and last but a few hours before setting in the west. Saturn is the brighter of the two and resides in the western end of the zodiacal constellation Leo. Mars is on the western end of the constellation and glows a dull red.

M.A.L.