Jupiter and Venus stand side by side at nightfall. Brighter Venus, the Evening Star, is on the right. The planets are the two brightest objects in the entire night sky other than the Moon. Fainter Mercury is to their lower right.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
June 7: Venus and Jupiter
June 8: More Venus and Jupiter
A conjunction between the two brightest points of light in the night sky, the planets Venus and Jupiter, plays out in the west the next couple of evenings. They are separated by less than two degrees, which is the width of your finger held at arm's length.
June 9: Moon and Saturn
The planet Saturn is near the Moon at dawn tomorrow. It looks like a bright star to the lower right of the Moon. A small telescope will reveal the largest of the planet's almost 300 known moons.
June 10: Eltanin
Eltanin, an Arabic name that means "the serpent," is the brightest star of Draco, the dragon, which is high in the north on summer evenings. Eltanin is as bright as the nearby North Star, Polaris.
June 11: Evening Array
The planets Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, and the stars Pollux and Castor-the "twins" of Gemini-congregate in the west in early evening. Venus is the brightest member, with the twins to its right, and Jupiter and Mercury to its lower right.
June 12: 'Shifting' Stars
Two bright stars that are on the move are in view at nightfall this evening. Regulus, which is moving away from us, is in the west, well to the upper left of the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter. Antares, low in the southeast, is sliding toward us.
June 13: Methuselah Star
The Methuselah Star, so called because it's roughly the age of the universe, is in Libra. As night falls, the star is to the lower left of Zubeneschamali, Libra's leading light. It is too faint to see with the eye alone, but it is visible through binoculars.