Look at the east-northeast horizon before dawn on Monday (June 27) to see the Moon end its monthly tour of the morning plants with Mercury.
“A silver piece of old monththe crescent will shine a few finger widths in the upper left (or 3.5 degrees to the celestial north) of the bright spot Mercury“, writes Chris Vaughan, an amateur astronomer with SkySafari Software who oversees Space.com’s Night Sky Calendar.
The couple will be close enough to share a view of the couple binoculars (represented by the green circle in the picture). But Vaughan warns observers to turn their optics away from the eastern horizon before sunrise.
Related: The brightest planets in the June night sky: How to see them (and when)
The moon could be quite difficult to spot at first glance as it will be a very thin crescent, illuminated by only 3%, according to Space.com columnist Joe Rao observing the sky.
If you’re looking for the added challenge of observing the sky, watch out Aldebaran. An orange star of the first magnitude will shine about 7 degrees to the left of Mercury toward Raou.
Monday morning is also your last good opportunity to see the moon joining the rare planetary alignment that was present this month. During June from left to right Mercury, Venus, Mars,, Jupiter and Saturn they lined up in their orbital order from left to right in the southeastern sky.
Hoping to take a good photo of the moon and live? Our guide on how to photograph the moon there are a few helpful tips. If you are looking for a camera, here is our review the best astrophotography cameras and the best lenses for astrophotography. As always, our guides for the best telescopes and the best binoculars it can help you prepare for the next big sky watching event.
Editor’s note: If you take a photo of the moon near Mercury, let us know! You can send pictures and comments to [email protected].
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