Stargazing Summary
Although the nights are shortest at this time of year, June is a big month for skywatching events. There's a slight lunar eclipse, plus, during the daytime, a rare transit of Venus across the Sun. Venus then climbs into view in the dawn sky by month's end, beginning its run as the "morning star," with Jupiter, which is second in brightness only to Venus, nearby. Mars moves closer to Saturn during the month as well. And in the stars, the scorpion skitters low across the south, and is in view all night.
View the Venus Transit
We have information on the second half of a twice-in-a-lifetime event: the June 5 transit of Venus across the Sun. Find out how to safely view the transit from home, plus get links to information on transits through history and transit-related public events around the country.
Radio Program Highlights
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June 4-10: Seeing spots. The planet Venus passes across the Sun this week, like a dark spot on the Sun’s brilliant face. We’ll have details. We’ll also tell you how the Sun is intruding on a family breakup. Join us for this and more.
June 11-17: Back to the Moonrocks. It's been four decades since the final Apollo mission to the Moon, but scientists are still studying the treasures they brought back — and learning a great deal about our satellite world. Join us for this and more.
June 18-24: Summertime. Summer gets under way in the northern hemisphere this week, and we'll tell you all about it, including a special spot for watching the summer solstice. Join us for this, plus a bright pairing in the dawn sky and much more.
June 25-30: Moon meanderings. The Moon passes a whole passel of bright lights this week — from the planet Mars early in the week, to the rival of Mars at week's end. We'll have details on all the Moon's beautiful encounters plus much more.
June Program Schedule »
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Premium Audio: Listen to today's program today on-demand with a paid subscription to StarDate premium audio.
June 4-10: Seeing spots. The planet Venus passes across the Sun this week, like a dark spot on the Sun’s brilliant face. We’ll have details. We’ll also tell you how the Sun is intruding on a family breakup. Join us for this and more.
June 11-17: Back to the Moonrocks. It's been four decades since the final Apollo mission to the Moon, but scientists are still studying the treasures they brought back — and learning a great deal about our satellite world. Join us for this and more.
June 18-24: Summertime. Summer gets under way in the northern hemisphere this week, and we'll tell you all about it, including a special spot for watching the summer solstice. Join us for this, plus a bright pairing in the dawn sky and much more.
June 25-30: Moon meanderings. The Moon passes a whole passel of bright lights this week — from the planet Mars early in the week, to the rival of Mars at week's end. We'll have details on all the Moon's beautiful encounters plus much more.
June Program Schedule »
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Coming up in StarDate Magazine
July/August brings you our Summer Reading Issue. We'll share feature-length excerpts from several new books in astronomy and space to help you plan your summer reading, as well as the latest astronomy news, summer skywatching tips, and star charts.
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News from the McDonald Observatory
Join Us for the June 5 Transit of Venus
Join us on the afternoon/early evening of June 5, 2012, for live views of, talks about, and demonstrations explaining the last transit of Venus across the face of the Sun until the year 2117. We'll bring live views of the transit from our solar viewing telescope as well as views from other parts of the world into our theater, discuss the how scientific expeditions to view transits of past centuries contributed to our knowledge of the solar system, and more.
Join us on the afternoon/early evening of June 5, 2012, for live views of, talks about, and demonstrations explaining the last transit of Venus across the face of the Sun until the year 2117. We'll bring live views of the transit from our solar viewing telescope as well as views from other parts of the world into our theater, discuss the how scientific expeditions to view transits of past centuries contributed to our knowledge of the solar system, and more.
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