It’s June. You know what this means—it’s Milky Way season! Aside from this splendid night backdrop, this month is still plenty of planetary displays that appear close to the Moon. We’re also having the longest day this year in June.

Check out this month’s sky events. All dates and times were given in UAE Local Time (UTC+4).

1. Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter

In the early morning of June 1^st, the Waning Gibbous Moon shows up in the night sky at 8.39° to the right of gas giant Jupiter.

2. Conjunction of the Moon and Mars

It’s the Red Planet’s turn to get close to the Moon on this day, as seen in the summer evening sky. Planet Mars will be situated 3.17°northwest of the Moon.

3. Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn

As the month nears its end, the Moon-Saturn pairing will once again appear in the night sky, with the Waning Gibbous Moon about 9.3° east of the ringed planet Saturn.

4. Appulse of the Moon and Jupiter

An appulse is coming our way! Say hello to the Moon-Jupiter pairing in the night sky in the late evening on June 28. The Waning Gibbous Moon will be situated 9.3° south-southeast of our Solar System’s largest planet.

5. June (Summer) Solstice

On this day in the UAE, the Sun rises at 5:34 A.M. and sets at 7:14 P.M. It will be the longest day for us in this part of the world, but not the hottest day because of season lag. Happy summer solstice!

REFERENCES

Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2021. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sea and Sky: www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html

Calendar of Astronomical Events. (n.d.). Retrieved from In-The-Sky.org: http://in-the-sky.org/newscal.php?year=2021&month=1&maxdiff=6 #datesel

Sunrise and sunset times in Abu Dhabi, June 2021. (n.d.). Retrieved from timeanddate.com: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi?month=6&year=2021