June’s new moon is finally upon us, bringing with it a handful of precious dark nights in which to explore the wonders of the starry sky, before the familiar sight of the waxing lunar crescent returns to hide fainter targets from view.
This month’s new moon phase occurs at 10:54 p.m. EDT on June 14 (0254 GMT on June 15), when the lunar disk passes between the sun and Earth, leaving the nights surrounding it blissfully free of moonlight.
The lack of moonlight allows us to appreciate the myriad treasures of the post-sunset realm, including faint constellations that are so easily overlooked in favor of their brighter counterparts during the rest of the month.
Visible planets
Look to the western horizon at sunset on June 14 to find the steady light of Venus shining a little over three degrees above Jupiter, just a few days on from their close conjunction on June 9.
Look to the lower right of Jupiter to spot Mercury shining above the horizon. The two will be separated by approximately 10 degrees — roughly the width of a clenched fist held at arm’s length against the night sky — to form a crooked planetary lineup in the night sky.
Mercury is putting on one of its best displays of the year. just one day out from reaching its point of greatest eastern elongation, when it appears farthest from the sun in the evening sky. Nonetheless, you’ll need a clear view of the western horizon if you hope to spot the elusive planet before it sets less than two hours after the sun.
Early risers will find the red light of Mars glistening less than 10 degrees above the eastern horizon in the predawn hours on nights surrounding the new moon phase, while Saturn will shine higher to the east, among the stars of the constellation Pisces.
Neptune can also be found hiding a little under 10 degrees to the upper right of the gas giant. It’s too dim to be spotted with the naked eye, but an 8-inch telescope should let you see its disk as a small blue dot from a dark sky location.
Stars and constellations
The new moon phase is the ideal time to head away from city lights to hunt the ancient sparkle of faint constellations that make themselves known in the absence of moonlight.
Turn to the southeast after sunset in mid-June and look out for the red light of the supergiant star Antares glowing between 10 and 20 degrees above the horizon. Antares sits at the heart of the constellation Scorpius, while the three bright stars to its upper right — Dschubba, Pi Scorpii and Acrab — represent the claws of the celestial predator.
Look above the stellar claws to find the kite-formation of stars that marks the constellation Libra, which represents a cosmic set of weighing scales. It’s the only constellation to be fashioned and named after an inanimate object and has long been associated with harmony and balance.
To Libra’s left is the constellation Ophiuchus, the “snake bearer“, which some consider to be the 13th zodiacal constellation, thanks to the fact that the sun passes through its southern extreme for two weeks each year, according to the astronomy website In-The-Sky.org.
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Ophiuchus was recorded in the 2nd century AD by the ancient Greek philosopher and astronomer Ptolemy and is often depicted as a man holding a vast celestial snake. This snake is actually a second constellation known as Serpens, which is divided into two parts that extend on either side of Ophiuchus.
Dark, moonless skies also reveal one of summer’s finest sights: the bright core of the Milky Way, which can be seen as a magnificent glowing arc extending upward from the southern horizon through the summer triangle formed from the bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb around midnight in late spring and early summer.
Want to capture your own photos of our galaxy glowing in the night sky? Then be sure to check out our guide detailing how to photograph the Milky Way, along with our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for imaging the post sunset realm.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.