Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.
June 23:
- Look for the waning crescent Strawberry Moon near the Pleiades low in the eastern skies in Taurus before sunrise. The Pleiades, also known as Messier 45 (M45), is a bright open star cluster that is easily visible to the naked eye and often mistaken for a tiny dipper.
- The Moon reaches perigee – it’s closest to Earth at 363,178km at 1:46 AM
- DAS E-Board Meeting (virtual on Zoom) – 7:00 PM (more info)
June 24:
- Jupiter will be directly behind the Sun today as the largest planet in our solar system passes into the morning sky.
- Mercury lines up with the twins Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini in the western skies right after sunset. The planet Mercury is the smallest and closest planet to the Sun, while Castor is a complex sextuple star system made up of hot, white A-type stars, and Pollux is a cooler, orange giant star that has evolved off the main sequence.
June 25 (RMSS and AstroCON kickoff):
- If you’re attending RMSS or AstroCON and would like to connect with fellow DAS members to coordinate meeting up with each other, exchange contact info, and share photos, join our #rmss-2025 or #astrocon-2025 Slack channels. (More info on Slack)
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare: Day 1 – Gardner, CO (Registration required)
- Astronomical League AstroCON 2025: Day 1 – Bryce Canyon, UT (Registration required)
June 26:
- Standley Lake Stargazing: Cosmic Conversations: Standley Lake Library or Zoom Livestream: 6:00 PM
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare: Day 2 – Gardner, CO (Registration required)
- Astronomical League AstroCon: Day 2 – Bryce Canyon, UT (Registration required)
June 27:
- Look for the two brightest stars in the Denver summer skies. Vega, the fifth brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of +0.03, is a blue-white A-type main sequence star in the constellation Lyra. Arcturus, ranked fourth in brightness with an apparent magnitude of –0.05, is an orange giant star in the constellation Boötes known for its warm, golden hue.
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare: Day 3 – Gardner, CO (Registration required)
- Astronomical League AstroCon: Day 3 – Bryce Canyon, UT (Registration required)
- Lake City Star Fest: Day 1 – Lake City, CO (Open to the public)
- Astronomy in the Park – Rocky Mountain National Park Park & Ride Area: 8:30 PM – 11:00 PM (Open to the public)
- DAS Dark Sky Weekend: Kline-Dodge Dark Sky Site
June 28:
- Look for the summer asterisms of the Tea Pot and Fish Hook low in the southern skies around midnight
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare: Day 4 – Gardner, CO (Registration required)
- Astronomical League AstroCon: Day 4 – Bryce Canyon, UT (Registration required)
- Lake City Star Fest: Day 2 – Lake City, CO (Open to the public)
- DAS Dark Sky Weekend: Kline-Dodge Dark Sky Site
June 29:
- Look for the waxing crescent Buck Moon next to Mars low in the western skies in the constellation Leo around 9:30 PM
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare: Day 5 – Gardner, CO (Registration required)
- Astronomical League AstroCon: Day 5 – Bryce Canyon, UT (Registration required)
- DAS Dark Sky Weekend: Kline-Dodge Dark Sky Site
Sky Map
- The pdf map of the night sky from SkyMaps.com can be found at https://www.skymaps.com/skymaps
This Week’s Meteoric Activity:
You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.
- Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM local time in eastern Libra: 1 per hour.
- June Bootids (JBO): Just after dark in northwestern Bootes: Less than 1 per hour
Clear skies and happy stargazing!
