Visible to the naked eye
Visible with binoculars
Visible with a telescope10°CETUSPERSEUSTAURUSARIESPISCESPEGASUSAQUARIUSAldebaranHamalMirfak AlpheratzFomalhautMercuryJune 24, 50 minute before sunrise
Looking eastVenusUranusMarsMoonJupiterNeptuneSaturn32 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2022
All seven major plan-
ets congregate in the
morning sky — yes, all seven!
The five naked-eye planets line
up in order of distance from the
Sun, stretched along the eclip-
tic. The Moon joins in later this
month. The morning spectacu-
lar is perfectly situated for
hours of remarkable telescopic
views, beginning when Saturn
rises soon before midnight in
late June. Within a span of just
over 90°, you can spy the rings
of Saturn, the atmospheric belts
and the Galilean moons of
Jupiter, the rusty surface of
Mars, the phase of Venus —
and a f leeting glimpse of
Mercury.
Instead of our usual start in
the evening sky, we’ll jump
right into the main event and
later discuss each planet as it
rises throughout the night.
The presence of all seven
planets in the morning sky is a
relatively rare sight. Of course,
following last year’s conjunctionof Jupiter and Saturn, the fact
that the other planets gather
near them is not that unusual.
On June 24, the five classical
planets and a crescent Moon
span the eastern sky in order of
distance from the Sun: Mercury,
Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn. All are visible to the
naked eye.Uranus and Neptune are
also in the mix. Both can be
observed in binoculars or with a
small telescope before the onset
of twilight. Uranus stands 6°
east of the Moon that morning,
shining at magnitude 5.9 in
Aries the Ram. Neptune is in
western Pisces, 11.5° west of
Jupiter and magnitude 7.8.
The planets are spread along
a 106° swath of the ecliptic.
Mercury is last to rise, shortly
before 4:30 A.M. local time,
allowing for at least half an
hour of good viewing before
twilight starts to interfere. The
Moon on the 24th is roughly
midway between Mars, inPisces, and Venus, in Taurus.
On the morning before or after
this date, the Moon is closer to
Mars or Venus, respectively.
The magnitude of each
naked-eye planet on June 24th
is as follows: Mercury –0.1,
Venus –3.9, Mars 0.5, Jupiter
–2.4, and Saturn 0.5.
June 7 is the earliest date you
might catch Mercury, as it
shines at magnitude 1.5 and
rises shortly before 5 A.M. local
time. That morning, the span
from Mercury through Saturn
is 91° — their closest for the
month. The span from Mercury
to Jupiter is only 52°. Later dates
in June are more favorable for
catching Mercury, though, as it
brightens considerably through
the month.
No planets are visible in the
evening this month, so let’s fol-
low the Moon instead. On
June 1, a 2-day-old Moon is
nearly 20° high in the west 30
minutes after sunset. You’ll find
the slender crescent 13° below
Gemini’s pair of 1st-magnitude
stars, Castor and Pollux.
Two days later, the fattening
Moon stands 5° northwest of
the Beehive star cluster (M44)
in Cancer the Crab. On June 5,
the waxing crescent floats less
than 5° north of Regulus, the
brightest star in Leo the Lion,View across the solar system (^)
JUNE 2022
A planetary
extravaganza
THE SOLAR SYSTEM’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS IT APPEARS IN EARTH’S SKY.
BY MARTIN RATCLIFFE AND ALISTER LING
SKY THIS MONTH
Noctilucent clouds (left) float in
the dawn sky in this summer
2020 panorama. Visible from left
to right are Venus, Mars, Saturn,
Jupiter, and the Moon. This year,
the remaining three planets will
join in. ALAN DYER
This month, all seven planets line up, joined by the Moon. Pull out binoculars
or a small scope to spot Uranus and Neptune. ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY