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Jimmy Westlake

Jimmy Westlake's Celestial News column appears Tuesdays in the Steamboat Today.

There's lots of action in the skies over Colorado this coming month, and much of it focuses on the clustering of bright planets forming in our pre-dawn sky.

The brightest of all planets, dazzling Venus, reaches its greatest elongation 46 degrees west of the sun Friday. That simply means that Venus is now at its best for early-morning viewing. Telescopically, Venus shows a striking quarter phase, like a tiny half moon hanging in the sky. At 5 a.m., Venus appears about one hand-span high above the eastern horizon.

Venus' constant companion this month is the distinctly fainter and redder planet Mars. The Red Planet opens the month of June only 5 degrees to Venus' lower left, but this small gap closes even further to just 2 degrees around mid-month. Don't miss the amazing grouping of the planets Venus and Mars with the slender crescent moon on the morning of June 19. Look toward the direction of the rising sun between 4 and 5 a.m., before the sky gets too bright. All three heavenly bodies will be lined up only 7 degrees apart, with Mars in the middle. Although Mars shines with only 1 percent of Venus' brilliance, its reddish hue is a dead giveaway.

If you're lucky June 19, you might even spot the planet Mercury about one hand-span to the lower left of the moon-Mars-Venus trio. Mercury actually reaches its greatest elongation 23 degrees west of the sun June 13, but you'll need an unobstructed view of the eastern sky to catch this illusive planet.

Don't mistake the other dazzling planet in our morning sky for Venus. Jupiter, the king of the planets, rises about midnight in mid-June and dominates the southeastern sky before dawn. The moon and Jupiter pair up for a stunning photo-op on the morning of June 13, only 3.5 degrees apart. Both worlds should fit nicely behind your thumb at arm's length.

The distant planet Neptune is hanging out near Jupiter all summer. Neptune is six times farther from us than Jupiter, so it appears very faint. Binoculars are required to even see this far-away world, but if you own a pair, look for Neptune about 1 degree to Jupiter's upper right. While you're at it, see if you can spot any of Jupiter's four giant moons alongside the giant planet.

When the full moon breaks the southeastern horizon Saturday evening, the sky will be missing one of its brightest stars. The first magnitude star Antares, also known as the Heart of the Scorpion, will be hidden behind the moon at the time of moonrise for Coloradans. It suddenly will pop back into view on the upper right edge of the bright moon within a couple of minutes of 9 p.m. MDT, depending on your exact location. Start looking at about 8:55 p.m. and keep watching until you see an orange flare magically appear near the "1 o'clock" position on the moon's limb. Binoculars will enhance the view, but no optical aid is necessary to watch the moon un-eclipse Antares in the darkening sky. Antares is a red supergiant star, 520 light years from Earth, and the 16th brightest star in our night sky.

Finally, the sun will reach its highest point north of the Earth's equator at 11:45 p.m. MDT on June 20. This marks the moment of the June Solstice and the official start of summer in the northern hemisphere.

Professor Jimmy Westlake teaches astronomy and physics at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus. He is an avid astronomer whose photographs and articles have been published all around the world. His "Celestial News" column appears weekly in the Steamboat Pilot & Today and his "Cosmic Moment" radio spots can be heard on local radio station KFMU. Also, check out Jimmy's astrophotography Web site at www.jwestlake.com.