Stars and Constellations
In June, the spring sky is now prominent overhead, along with the familiar Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is high in the north, and the two stars at the end of the bowl can be used to find Polaris, our north star. Also, the handle can be used to "arc to Arcturus", a bright star in the constellation Boötes. Then Hercules is just below towards the east. Next, Leo the lion is very high in the west, with the constellation Virgo nearby to the south. A few winter constellations are still visible, now very low in the west. Castor and Pollux, the heads of Gemini the twins, are the most prominent, to the west-northwest. The summer sky is now just starting to come up at the beginning of the night. The bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra the harp is towards the east-northeast. In the southeast we have the constellation Scorpius the scorpion, with the bright star Antares. Further to the south we can also see the constellations of Centaurus and Lupus the wolf right along the horizon.
In July, the last of the winter constellations are now gone, and the spring constellations are beginning to head to the west. The summer constellations are now mostly up in the east. We can easily see all three stars in the Summer Triangle, Vega being the highest in the east-northeast, Deneb a little lower to the northeast, and Altair to the east. To the southeast we can see the Teapot of Sagittarius near the tail of Scorpius. Also, to the north-northeast we can see the W of Cassiopeia the queen.
Interesting Stars Visible in June and July (from 7-10 pm)
| Name / Designation | Apparent Magnitude (lower = brighter) | Distance (light-years) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcturus | -0.05 | 36.7 | |
| Vega | 0.03 | 25 | |
| Capella | 0.08 | 42 | |
| Procyon | 0.4 | 11 | |
| Altair | 0.76 | 17 | |
| Spica | 0.98 | 262 | |
| Pollux | 1.16 | 38 | |
| Markab | 1.25 | 140 | |
| Deneb | 1.25 | 3230 | |
| Regulus | 1.36 | 77 | means "Little King" |
| Castor | 1.58 | 52 | |
| Polaris | 1.97 | 431 | |
| Alpheratz or Sirrah | 2.07 | 97 | |
| Denebola | 2.14 | 36.2 | |
| Enif | 2.38 | 670 | |
| Albireo | 3.2 / 5.8 & 5.1 | 390 / 380 | possibly a triple star system |
| Eta Cassiopeiae | 3.5 / 7.4 | 19 | 480 yr orbit |
Solar System
Mercury becomes visible in the west after sunset in the second week of June, reaches its highest point in early July, and then disappears again in the middle of the month.
Venus kind of hovers low in the east before sunrise for all of June and July.
Mars is getting lower in the evening sky, moving through Leo.
Jupiter sets soon after sunset in early June, passes behind the Sun later in the month, then comes up before sunrise in late July.
Saturn is in Pisces, rising in the early morning until late June and the late evening thereafter.
Calendar of Night Sky Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 06/02/25 | First Quarter Moon. |
| 06/08/25 | Appulse of Mercury and Jupiter. — Separated by 2.0°. |
| 06/11/25 | Full Moon. |
| 06/18/25 | Last Quarter Moon. |
| 06/20/25 | Earth at northern solstice. — Beginning of our Summer. |
| 06/24/25 | Jupiter at conjunction. — Passing directly(!) behind the Sun. |
| 06/25/25 | New Moon. |
| 07/02/25 | First Quarter Moon. |
| 07/03/25 | Earth at aphelion. — Our farthest distance from the Sun. |
| 07/03/25 | Mercury at greatest eastern elongation. — Visible in the evening sky. |
| 07/04/25 | Appulse of Venus and Uranus. — Separated by 2.4°. |
| 07/06/25 | Appulse of Saturn and Neptune. — Separated by 1.0°. |
| 07/10/25 | Full Moon. |
| 07/17/25 | Last Quarter Moon. |
| 07/24/25 | New Moon. |
| 07/24/25 | Pluto at opposition. — Best time to look for this dwarf planet. |
| 07/27/25 | Peak of Delta Aquariids meteor shower. |
| 07/31/25 | Mercury at inferior conjunction. — Passing between us and the Sun. |
Deep Sky
There are several open star clusters we can see this time of year. First, Coma Berenices (Bernice's Hair) is high in the west near the tail of Leo. Next, there is the Ptolemy cluster (M7) and the Butterfly (M6) in the southeast near the tail of Scorpius. Also nearby is the Wild Duck (M11) in the constellation of Scutum.
Now that the Milky Way is coming up, there are several globular clusters we can see. M3 is high in the west, in the constellation Boötes. Nearby, the famous Hercules Globular (M13) is high in the east. We also have M5 high in the south in the constellation of Serpens. Finally, for those with a clear horizon, the amazing Omega Centauri (C80) is visible low to the south.
For nebulae, we can see the Swan (M17), the Lagoon (M8), and the Trifid (M20) to the southeast in the constellation Sagittarius. The Eagle (M16) is nearby in the constellation of Serpens. The North America nebula is also in the northeast in Cygnus. For planetary nebulae, we have the Owl (M97) in Ursa Major high in the northwest. We also have the Dumbbell (M27) in the west-northwest in the constellation of Vulpecula and the Ring (M57) nearby in Lyra.
And now the galaxies: In Ursa Major to the northwest we have Bode's Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82), close enough to be seen together in a low-power telescope. Nearby in the constellation Canes Venatici we have the Whirlpool (M51), which is a pair of colliding galaxies. The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) is also nearby near the handle of the Big Dipper. Then the Southern Pinwheel (M83) is to the southwest in the constellation Hydra. The Sombrero Galaxy (M104) is nearby in the constellation Virgo.
Interesting Deep Sky Objects to Observe during June and July (from 7-10 pm)
| Designation | Name | Apparent Magnitude | Apparent Size | Distance (light-years) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messier 31 | Andromeda Galaxy | 3.4 | 3° x 1° | 2,900,000 | spiral galaxy |
| Messier 44 | Beehive Cluster | 3.7 | 95' | 577 | open cluster |
| Messier 3 | (in Canes Venatici) | 6.2 | 18' | 34,000 | globular cluster |
| Messier 27 | Dumbbell Nebula | 7.4 | 8' × 6' | 1,250 | planetary nebula |
| NGC 7009 | Saturn Nebula | 8 | 36" | 2,400 | planetary nebula |
| Messier 81 | Bode's Galaxy | 8.5 | 21' | 12,000,000 | spiral galaxy |
| NGC 3242 | Ghost of Jupiter | 8.6 | 25" | 1,400 | planetary nebula |
| Messier 57 | Ring Nebula | 8.8 | 1' | 2,300 | planetary nebula |
| Messier 82 | Cigar Galaxy | 9.5 | 14' | 12,000,000 | galaxy |
Frequently Asked Questions
How will the universe end?
We used to believe that our universe was static and unchanging. But with Edwin Hubble’s discovery in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, that led us to realize that it may have a beginning and an end. The prevailing theory about the beginning of the universe is well known: the Big Bang. But how it will end is still somewhat of a mystery. However, there are a few possible scenarios.
First, if the universe’s expansion slows down, perhaps it could eventually begin to collapse and end in a Big Crunch. Based on our current understanding, we don’t believe that this is likely, but it hasn’t been entirely ruled out. If a Big Crunch is followed by another Big Bang, this could lead to a cycle of expansion and contraction meaning that our universe may not be the first or last one to exist.
The opposite scenario is if the expansion accelerates more and more until even atoms cannot hold themselves together, the universe will end in a Big Rip. We already see the expansion pulling distant galaxies away from each other, but eventually it could pull apart the galaxies themselves, and maybe even stars and planets, all the way down to subatomic particles. This is also thought to be unlikely, but again, it hasn’t been ruled out.
Right in the middle is where the universe neither reverses nor runs away to infinity, but just continues to expand forever. This will result in what is known as Heat Death or the Big Freeze. We’ve witnessed stars dying, and eventually all stars will die and no new ones will form. Even stellar remnants slowly decay, losing heat and energy over long time scales. In the far future, everything will reach its lowest possible energy state, meaning that change will no longer occur. This is the least dramatic, but considered most likely scenario given our current understanding of cosmology.
We are still learning about our universe, so our theories may change as new discoveries are made. Perhaps what we think are universal constants could evolve over time. It’s entirely possible that there is new physics that hasn’t been discovered yet that could alter cosmology dramatically. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
If you have any questions you'd like me to answer in the next issue of SWG, please let me know. I'm also happy to take suggestions or comments, and also pictures if you'd like to send them. Happy viewing!
Date of publication: 2025