Astroblog: Thursday June 18 to Thursday June 25

Monday, June 15, 2026

Thursday June 18 to Thursday June 25

The First Quarter Moon is Monday June 22. The "Lunar X" can be seen at this time. Earth is at solstice on the 21st. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a line. In the evening, on the 18th, the Moon is close to Venus and the Beehive cluster. On the 20th, Venus and the Beehive are at their closest. On the 25th Mercury and Jupiter are close in the twilight.

The First Quarter Moon is Monday June 22. The "Lunar X" can be seen at this time. Earth is at solstice, when the days are shortest, on the 21st.

Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, June 20 as seen from Adelaide at 5:52 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

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

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).

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

Venus, Jupiter and Mercury form a line with the waxing Moon.

Venus is close to the waxing Moon and the inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

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 Saturday, June 20 as seen from Adelaide at 18:11 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is at its closest to the Beehive Cluster (M44). The inset is the binocular view of Venus and the Beehive.

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 Monday, June 22 as seen from Adelaide at 20:11 ACST.

The First Quarter Moon is high above the western horizon and the lunar "X" and "V" are easily seen in a small telescope.

the inset shows the telescopic view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the times indicated below:

Date	UT	AEST	ACST	AWST
June 22	09:41	20:41	20:11	17:41 (WA: X visible at twilight better when sky is full dark)

Western sky on the evening of Thursday, June 25 as seen from Adelaide at 18:12 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Mercury and Jupiter are at their closest, with Venus above. Venus is coming closer to the Bright Star Regulus.

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 20th as seen from Adelaide at 18:42 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

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

Bright Canopus and Sirius are sinking into the west. Scorpius, is readily seen above the south-eastern horizon.

The Southern Cross is at its zenith in the Southern sky. The Moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see to see.

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

Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight, below Venus and Jupiter. On the 25th Mercury and Jupiter are close in the twilight.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is drawing away Jupiter in the evening sky. 18th, the Moon is close to Venus and the Beehive cluster. On the 20th, Venus and the Beehive are at their closest.

Mars is climbing in the twilight.

Jupiter is low above the horizon, setting in the early evening. On the 25th Mercury and Jupiter are close in the twilight.

Saturn is climbing in the twilight above Mars.

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