JUNE 2025

Moon phases

Phase Date
First Quarter Tuesday 3rd
Full Moon Wednesday 11th
Third Quarter Thursday 19th
New Moon Wednesday 25th

Moon distances

Lunar perigee (closest to Earth) is on Monday 23rd at 363,178 km.

Lunar apogee (furthest from Earth) is on Saturday 7th at 405,554 km.

Planets

Mercury has moved from behind the Sun but is not yet visible as a night time object.

Venus as the 'morning star' can be seen from 3:40am shining brightly in the east before finally fading in the north-east by dawn.

Mars is still an evening object and can be seen in the north at twilight around 6pm before setting by 10:15pm.

Jupiter is not visible this month as a night time object as it is about the pass behind the Sun for its solar conjunction.

Saturn has returned from its solar conjunction and can be seen in from around 1am in the north before slipping from sight in the north-west in the early dawn light.

Meteors

There are two minor meteor showers this month. The Arietid Meteor Shower (in the constellation of Aries) occurs through to June 24 but peaks on June 11th. From Melbourne the shower is likely best seen just before dawn. Although low in number (less than 10 per hour) they can often be spectacular and bright with many displaying a yellow/orange colour.

The Bootid Meteor Shower (in the constellation of Bootes) appears late in June and into early July. The best time to see meteors is after midnight with no moon in the night sky.

Stars and constellations

In the west

Although Orion has disappeared below the western horizon but his two dogs Canis Major with the star Sirius (low in the west) and Canis Minor with the star Procyon (low in the north-west) are still both in our skies.

In the north

Leo the lion is still visible in the north-west with the bright star Regulus. Look for a large hook of stars, or inverted question mark, to locate his curving mane and shoulders.

In the east

Scorpius is in the south-east this month with the red-giant star Antares as the middle of three stars that form the scorpion's body. During winter the centaur-archer Sagittarius suits below the scorpion with its bow and arrow (the famous 'Tea Pot' asterism).

In the south

High in the south-east is Crux or The Southern Cross with the Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri) lower down. In darker skies the two neighbouring galaxies, the Large and Small Clouds of Magellan, can be seen as small isolated patches in the south-west. From our southern latitude they are easily seen every night.

In dark locations the broad band of the Milky Way's billions of stars and numerous interstellar dust clouds stretches across the sky from horizon to horizon. While some foreground stars in our local region of the galaxy can be seen, the dark dust clouds obscure our view further into the galaxy since our eyes and optical telescopes 'see' in only the visible part of the spectrum.

On this day

1st 2002, Czech Republic becomes the first country to ban light pollution.

2nd 1966, Surveyor 1 (USA) lands on Moon as first probe to land on another body.

3rd 1965, Ed White takes America's first spacewalk as part of Gemini IV.

6th 1971, Soyuz 11 (USSR) carries the first people to a space station (Salyut 1).

7th 1879, Joan Voute proves with parallax that dwarf star Proxima Centauri is the same distance as Alpha Centauri binary.

8th 2004, a Transit of Venus is observed, the first in 122 years.

9th 1986, Rogers report on Space Shuttle Challenger explosion reveals solid rocket booster fault and serious management and safety problems with US program.

10th 2003, launch of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (USA) which lands in 2004 and exceeds expectations operating to 2010.

13th 1983, Pioneer 10 (USA) becomes the first spacecraft to travel beyond the planets of the Solar System.

13th 2010, Hyabusa (Japan) craft returns the first asteroid samples to Earth.

14th 1962, European Space Research Organization (ESRO) begins, later to be part of European Space Agency (ESA).

15th 763 BCE, Assyrians record a total solar eclipse which has helped in dating other events in Mesopotamian history.

16th 1911, a meteorite weighing 772g strikes a barn in rural Wisconsin (USA).

16th 1963, Valentina V. Tereshkova (USSR) is the first woman in space in Vostok 6, the first civilian into space, and the only woman to undertake a solo space flight.

17th 1969, Venera 6 (USSR) descends into Venus' dense atmosphere sending data before being crushed by rising pressure.

18th 1983, Sally Ride is first American woman in space aboard Shuttle Challenger.

20th 1990, Asteroid Eureka found as part of the Trojans asteroid group orbiting at Mars' L5 Lagrange point.

21st 2004, SpaceShipOne (USA) launched as first privately-funded human space flight.

21st 2006, Pluto's small moons Nyx and Hydra are named.

22nd 1633, Galileo recants his sun-centered solar system model under threat of torture by the Catholic Inquisition.

22nd 1978, Dr James W. Christy (USA) discovers Pluto's large moon Charon.

24th 1883, discoverer of cosmic rays, Victor Francis Hess, is born.

24th 1915, birth of Fred Hoyle, who explained the creation of elements in stars, promoted the steady state universe, and coined the pejorative term 'big bang' for the rival model of the universe's creation.

29th 1818, Angelo Secchi born, one of the first astronomers to believe the Sun is a star.

29th 1995, Space Shuttle Atlantis (USA) – first docking at Russia's Mir Space Station.

30th 1908, a meteor several metres in size explodes over Tunguska (Russia) destroying 2,200 km2 of forest in a multi-megaton blast.

30th 1971, Soyuz 11 (USSR) was the only mission to visit the first space station Salut 1 (USSR) after which its crew of three became the only humans known to have died in space when their cabin depressurized prior to re-entry.