In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can't always plan when and where we're going to get the chance to gaze upwards.
Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.
So when you do find the time, you'll need to know what's visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.
Here's our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
What's in the night sky tonight?
June astronomy highlights
- All month: Keep watch for noctilucent clouds as the season progresses
- 1 June: Venus at greatest western elongation (morning)
- 17 June: Mars and Regulus separated by just 0.7o (morning)
- 19 June: Conjunction of Saturn, the last quarter Moon and Neptune (morning)
- 21 June: Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice
Noctilucent clouds
June is a challenging month for UK astronomy, the solstice on 21 June rendering the nights short and without true darkness.
In a way, this can make identification of the major constellations a little easier with fewer faint stars to confusion the view.
It’s also the first full month where noctilucent cloud (NLC) displays may be witnessed.
Equipment: Google Pixel 8 smartphone
Noctilucent clouds are an atmospheric phenomenon linked with meteor dust, the tiny particulates left behind when a meteoroid vaporises in Earth’s atmosphere to form a meteor trail.
From late May to early August the temperature of the mesosphere drops.
Water vapour present at a height around 82km up, becomes super-cooled and, on contact with a particle of meteor dust, forms a minute ice crystal.
If enough crystals are created, ice-sheet clouds can form.
At such a high altitude, roughly seven times higher than the highest regular or tropospheric clouds, when the Sun is below the horizon at ground level, sunlight is still reflecting off the NLCs high in the sky, so they shine in the deep twilight. Noctilucent means ‘night shining’.
NLCs are typically seen low above the northwest horizon 90-120 minutes after sunset or a similar time before sunrise low above the northeast horizon.
They typically have a beautiful blue white colour and often show delicate herringbone structures.
Stars and constellations
The stars in the June sky would be beautiful if it weren’t for the lack of true darkness.
The red supergiant Antares (Alpha (α) Scorpii) can be seen hugging the southern horizon.
Marking the heart of Scorpius, the Scorpion, it shines with a distinctive orange colour which is said to resemble the hue of planet Mars; the name Antares literally means ‘rival of Mars’.
West of Antares are the distinctive stars marking the scorpion’s claws and further west still the constellation of Libra, the Scales.
The two main stars of Libra are Zubeneschamali (Beta (β) Scorpii) and Zubenelgenubi (Alpha (α) Scorpii), names which mean ‘northern claw’ and ‘southern claw’ respectively, this being because they once were part of Scorpius.
North of Antares is the large void of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, best described as looking like a tall house with a pointed roof and dangling legs.
Ophiuchus is carrying a snake in the form of Serpens, the Serpent, the only constellation sub-divided into two; Serpens Cauda the Serpent’s Tail to the east and Serpens Caput the Serpent’s head to the west.
Serpens Caput contains the beautiful globular cluster M5 immediately adjacent to 5 Serpentis.
Not to be outdone, Serpens Cauda contains (albeit only just) the Eagle Nebula M16.
Made famous by the Hubble and then JWST images, and known as the Pillars of Creation, the nebula is hard to see through small telescopes and you’re more likely to see just the embedded star cluster.
Larger scopes show the faint glow of the nebula gas, with imaging required to reveal it in its full glory.
Find out more in our guide on how to see the Pillars of Creation.
Night sky in June 2025, night-by-night
Sunday 1 June
Morning planet Venus reaches greatest western elongation. This morning, it will appear separated from the Sun by 45.9°. In theory, the planet should be at 50% illumination, although its phase anomaly suggests this may be a few days late.
Monday 2 June
With dark skies in short supply, early summer is graced by the beautiful red supergiant Antares (Alpha (α) Scorpii). Antares is due south around 01:00 BST (00:00 UT) at the start of June.
Tuesday 3 June
A less well-known asterism in the summer sky is Poniatowski’s Bull, a V-shaped pattern off the northeastern shoulder of Ophiuchus formed from 66, 67, 68, 70 and 73 Ophiuchi. The pattern is just east of south, about 40° up, at around 01:00 BST (00:00 UT).
Wednesday 4 June
The effect known as Plato’s Hook is visible on this evening’s Moon, best around 23:00 BST (22:00 UT). At this time, a rim peak shadow forms inside crater Plato that some have described as curved.
Thursday 5 June
The minor planet 5 Astraea reaches opposition, when it can be seen mimicking a mag. +10.6 star among the stars of Ophiuchus.
Tuesday 10 June
This evening and into the morning of 11 June, the full Moon is very low when due south. This is near a ‘major lunar standstill’, the lowest Moon in an 18.6-year lunar cycle. It’s also a perfect chance to experience the Moon illusion, which makes the low full Moon appear much larger than it really is.
Sunday 15 June
Lunar libration starts to favour Mare Orientale and its surroundings.
Monday 16 June
In the run-up to midnight and as it approaches setting, mag. +1.4 Mars sits just 0.8° north of mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis).
Thursday 19 June
Saturn lies 2.0° south of this morning’s last quarter Moon at (02:25 BST) 01:25 UT, with Neptune between them 1.3° southwest of the Moon’s centre.
Saturday 21 June
At 03:41 BST (02:41 UT), the Sun reaches its most northerly declination against the background stars, a point in time known as a solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the summer solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice.
Sunday 22 June
There’s a lovely conjunction between the 15%-lit waning crescent Moon and mag. –4.1 Venus today, low above the east-northeast horizon around 03:30 BST (02:30 UT).
Monday 23 June
A tricky observation at best, this morning’s 7%-lit waning crescent Moon will clip the southernmost stars in the Pleiades open cluster. The event will be hampered by bright twilight.
Friday 27 June
Rising around 07:10 BST (06:10 UT), Mercury is 2.0° south of the 4%-lit waxing crescent Moon, a tricky daylight sight. In the evening, the separation is 7.3°, the Moon now 7% lit. Spot them around 22:30 BST (21:30 UT) low above the west-northwest horizon.
Sunday 29 June
Locate the Moon low above the western horizon after sunset, say around 23:00 BST (22:00 UT), and you’ll find mag. +1.5 Mars slightly less than 2° to the east of it. Mag. +1.3 Regulus is 5.1° west-northwest of the Moon at this time.
Monday 30 June
Not the easiest spot in bright twilight, but mag. +0.7 Saturn and mag. +7.9 Neptune are less than a degree apart this morning. Catch them 10° up above the east-southeast horizon at 02:00 BST (01:00 UT).
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
