Sky Events
May 2024
May 1: Third Quarter Moon
May 3: Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn, with an angular separation of 50′
May 5: The η-Aquariid meteor shower reaches peak activity of 40 meteors per hour.
May 7: New Moon
May 9: Mercury at its greatest western elongation
May 11: Globular cluster M5 in Serpens is well-placed for observation.
May 15: First Quarter Moon
May 23: Full Moon
May 28: Globular Cluster M4 in Scorpius is well-placed for observation.
May 30: Third Quarter Moon
May 31: Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn, with an angular separation of 22′
Planets in May
Mercury: Not visible this month.
Venus: Not easily visible this month.
Mars: Morning planet emerging from the Sun’s glare, best at the end of the month.
Jupiter: Not easily visible this month.
Saturn: Poor visibility in the morning sky.
June 2024
June 1: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (M13) is well-placed for observation.
June 2: Conjunction of the Moon and Mars, with an angular separation of 2°09′.
June 3: The globular cluster M12 in Ophiuchus is well-placed for observation.
June 5: The globular cluster M10 in Ophiuchus is well-placed for observation.
June 6: New Moon
June 10: The Daytime Arietid meteor shower reaches its peak activity of about 50 meteors per hour.
June 10: The globular cluster M92 in Hercules is well-placed for observation.
June 14: First Quarter Moon
June 20: Summer Solstice
June 21: Full Moon
June 22: The Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius is well-placed for observation.
June 27: Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn, with an angular separation of 4’38”
June 28: Third Quarter Moon
June 30: The globular cluster M22 in Sagittarius is well-placed for observation.
Planets in June
Mercury: Superior conjunction June 14, making it one of the best planets to see. Best in the evening sky at the end of June.
Venus: This planet is unlikely to be seen this month as it is too close to the Sun.
Mars: Improving morning planet, rises nearly three hours before sunrise at the end of June.
Jupiter: Improving morning planet, close daylight conjunction with Mercury on June 4.
Saturn: Morning planet with poor visibility.