Sunrise Sunset

Fri., June 17 5:06 8:18

Sat., June 18 5:06 8:18

Sun., June 19 5:06 8:18

Mon., June 20 5:06 8:19

Tues., June 21 5:07 8:19

Wed., June 22 5:07 8:19

Thurs., June 23 5:07 8:19

Fri., June 24 5:07 8:19

Summer arrives officially at 1:16 p.m. on Tuesday. Daylight is longer than 15 hours. It has been a progressive spring. The length of the day has advanced; unfortunately the temperature has not.

The temperature most days this June has been in the 50s and 60s. We’ve had a taste of summer to come.

Moon and Planets

The moon tonight is gibbous and rises soon after twilight. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Sagittarius and is low in the southeastern sky. It spends Monday in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus.

The ringed-planet Saturn is high in the western sky after twilight. Saturn is in the zodiacal constellation Virgo, near Spica. It is easy to distinguish as it appears near one of the stars in the constellation. The star’s name is Gamma Virginis.

For now, Saturn looks like a double star. For more than a month, Saturn has been moving in close proximity to the star. They were closest last Saturday. For those who keep an eagle eye on the planet, over the span of weeks, Saturn will appear to move away from this neighboring star. The rest of the visible planets, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, are morning planets. Venus is the brightest and it is also the closest to the horizon before sunrise. Mars is the red planet above Venus. Jupiter is the highest in the morning sky.

M.A.L.