Learn what is happening in June 2009 and what has happened in June in the past. Discover highlights of the night sky and learn what to look for in June 2009.
June Highlight - Parade of Planets

NASA/JPL/Space Science InstituteThe parade of planets continues this month, though by mid-month
Saturn is getting harder to spot.
Jupiter is rising earlier but is still a good morning view. Meanwhile,
Venus and
Mars are getting easier to spot and
Mercury makes another appearance. For a treat, look for
Ceres around mid-month.

Nick GreeneCheck out this map for the month of
June, or create your own customized map with our
Free Sky Maps tool.
Note: This map is for a median time and location and June have slight differences from your location and viewing time. Planets and moons shown on this map will have the highest probability of appearing in different locations.
Use this handy Sky Map Symbols Key to figure out what you should be looking for.

Nick GreeneThis month, the constellation
Virgo can be seen high in the sky. Let's take a closer look at
Virgo.
- The Virgin
- Genitive: Virginis
- Abbreviations: Vir, Virg
- Right Ascension, (h): 13
- Declination, (deg): 0

Public DomainBorn around 190 BC in Nicaea, Bithynia (now known as now Iznik,Turkey), Hipparchus's life is mostly a mystery. As an astronomer, Hipparchus calculated the length of the year to within 6 1/2 minutes. While his star catalogue does not survive today, it is believed that he included around 850 stars. He also made a careful study of the motions of the moon.
Check every day to learn what happened "
This Day in History."
- 1: 1928 - Birthday Georgi Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky, Odessa, cosmonaut, Soyuz 11
- 5: 1819 - Birthday John Couch Adams, English astronomer, co-discover Neptune
- 11: 1969 - David Bowie released "Space Oddity"
- 30: 1908 - A mysterious explosion occurred in the skies over Siberia. It has since been attributed to comet fragments.

Copyright 1995-2003, California Institute of TechnologyCheck out our
Astronomical Events Calendar to learn about other happenings in space and on Earth. Here is a sampling of highlights.
- 5 - Venus At Its Greatest Western Elongation (46 Degrees)
- 5 - John Couch Adams' 190th Birthday (1819)
- 13 - Jet Propulsion Lab's 65th Birthday (1944)
- 13 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
- 15 - Glory Taurus Launch
- 18 - William Lassell's 210th Birthday (1799)
- 21 - Summer Solstice, 05:45 UT
- 22 - Dwarf Planet 134340 Pluto Closest Approach To Earth (30.664 AU)
- 22 - Asteroid Vespa in Conjunction with the Sun
- 23 - Pluto At Opposition