Planets, Milky Way and more in June 2025 skywatching

Nasa Space

Find out where to spot Saturn, Venus and Mars this month. Milky Way's core is visible and more. Night sky: What you can see this  month   https://otieu.com/4/9412360

Transcript

00:00What's up for June?

00:04Mars grazes the lion's heart.

00:08A connection to ancient times. And the galaxy in all

00:12its glory. Starting with planet observing for this month,

00:16find Saturn and Venus in the eastern sky during the couple of hours before dawn

00:20each morning throughout the month. Saturn rapidly climbs higher

00:24in the sky each day as the month goes on. You'll find the third quarter

00:28moon next to Saturn on the 19th and a crescent moon next to Venus

00:32on the 22nd. Mercury pops up toward the end of the month.

00:36Look for it quite low in the west just as the glow of sunset

00:40is fading. It's highest and most visible on the 27th.

00:44Mars is still visible in the couple of hours after sunset toward the west

00:48though it's noticeably fainter than it was in early May. Over

00:52several days in mid-June, Mars passes quite close to Regulus,

00:56the bright star at the heart of the constellation Leo

01:00the lion. Have a peek on the

01:0216th and 17th with binoculars

01:04or a small telescope to see them as

01:06close as the width of the full moon.

01:10June means that Milky Way core

01:12season is here.

01:14This is the time of year when the Milky Way

01:16is visible as a faint band

01:18of hazy light arching across the sky

01:20all night. You just

01:22need to be under dark skies away

01:24from bright city lights to see it.

01:26What you're looking at

01:28is the bright central core of our

01:30home galaxy seen edge on

01:32from our position within the galaxy's

01:34disk. Long exposure

01:36photos make the Milky Way's bright stars

01:38and dark dust clouds even

01:40clearer. And while our eyes

01:42see it in visible light, NASA

01:44telescopes observe the galaxy across

01:46the spectrum, peering through

01:48dust to help us better understand

01:50our origins. However

01:52you observe it, getting out under the Milky

01:54Way in June is a truly remarkable

01:56way to connect with the cosmos.

02:00June brings the summer solstice for

02:02those north of the equator, which is the

02:04winter solstice for those south of the equator.

02:06In the northern hemisphere

02:08this is when the sun is above the horizon

02:10longer than any other day

02:12making it the longest day of the year.

02:14The situation is reversed for the southern

02:16hemisphere where it's the shortest day

02:18of the year. Earth's tilted

02:20rotation is the culprit.

02:22The tilt is always in the same direction

02:24with the north pole always pointing

02:26toward Polaris, the north star.

02:28And since that tilt stays the same year

02:30round, when we're on one side of the

02:32sun in winter, the north part of the

02:34planet is tilted away from the sun.

02:36But six months later, the planet moves

02:38halfway around its annual path

02:40carrying us to the opposite side of

02:42Earth's orbit, and the northern part of the

02:44planet now finds itself tilted toward

02:46the sun. The June solstice

02:48is when this tilt is at its

02:50maximum. This is summertime

02:52for the north bringing long days,

02:54lots more sunlight, and warmer

02:56temperatures. The June solstice

02:58marks a precise moment in Earth's

03:00orbit, a consistent astronomical

03:02signpost that humans have

03:04observed for millennia.

03:06Ancient structures from Stonehenge

03:08to Chichen Itza were built in part

03:10to align with the solstices,

03:12demonstrating how important these celestial

03:14events were to many cultures.

03:16So whether you're experiencing long

03:18summer days in the northern hemisphere

03:20or the brief daylight hours of winter

03:22in the south, find a quiet spot

03:24to watch the sunset on this special day

03:26and you'll be participating in one of

03:28humanity's oldest astronomical

03:30traditions, connecting you to observers

03:32across thousands of years of human

03:34history.

03:36Here are the phases of the Moon

03:38for June.

03:40You can stay up to date on all of

03:42NASA's missions exploring the solar system

03:44and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

03:46I'm Preston Dykes

03:48from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

03:50and that's what's up for this month.

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