Astroblog: Thursday June 11 to Thursday June 18

Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Thursday June 11 to Thursday June 18

The New Moon is Monday June 15. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a line. On the 11th the crescent Moon is close to Saturn, then on the 13th the thin crescent Moon is close to Mars. Venus is close to Jupiter in the evening sky. On the 15th, Venus is midway between Jupiter and the Beehive Cluster (M44). On the 17th Mercury, Jupiter and the thin crescent Moon form a triangle.

The New Moon is Monday June 15. The Moon is at perigee when it is closest to the Earth, on the 15th.

Eastern horizon on the morning of Thursday, June 11 as seen from Adelaide at 5:49 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn and Mars form a line in the twilight. Saturn is now high enough for telescopic observation, and its rings are widening. The crescent Moon is below Saturn.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, June 13 as seen from Adelaide at 5:50 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn and Mars form a line in the twilight.

The thin crescent Moon is below Mars.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Western sky on the evening of Monday, June 15 as seen from Adelaide at 18:10 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus, Jupiter and Mercury form a line. Jupiter, Mercury and Pollux form a triangle.

Venus is midway between Jupiter and the Beehive Cluster (M44). The beehive cluster is indicated by brackets.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Western sky on the evening of Wednesday, June 17 as seen from Adelaide at 18:11 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Mercury, Jupiter and the thin crescent Moon form a triangle with Venus above forming another triangle with the Moon and Jupiter.

The inset shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, June 13th as seen from Adelaide at 18:41 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Jupiter and Venus are prominent low in the north-west.

Bright Canopus and Sirius are sinking from the Zenith. Orion is now lost in the twilight as Orion's Nemesis, Scorpius, rises above the south-eastern horizon.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is new and the fainter clusters and nebula are easy to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury enters the evening twilight, below Venus and Jupiter. On the 17th Mercury, Jupiter and the thin crescent Moon form a triangle.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is close to Jupiter in the evening sky. On the 15th, Venus is midway between Jupiter and the Beehive Cluster (M44).

Mars is climbing in the twilight. On the 13th the thin crescent Moon is close to Mars.

Jupiter is low above the horizon, setting in the early evening. On the 17th Mercury, Jupiter and the thin crescent Moon form a triangle.

Saturn is climbing in the twilight above Mars. On the 11th the waning Moon is close to Saturn.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ACST, Western sky at 10 pm ACST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky