The planet Mars spends the first few evenings of June amid the faint cluster of stars called “the Beehive”, because it does appear like a swarm of celestial bees. Of course Mars is so bright it overwhelms them, but a pair of binoculars brings them into view, better by 9:45 as the sky darkens, but lowering through the rest of the evening.
Friday:
While Mars visits the Beehive cluster of stars to the upper left of Venus, Venus has formed an alignment with the pair of stars to its right, the Twins of Gemini, Pollux on the left, and Castor on the right. Venus is just starting slip lower, but the Twins are sinking more quickly, the result of the Earth’s orbit constantly shifting our nightly view.
Saturday:
June’s Full “Strawberry” Moon might not be red, but its companion this evening certainly is. The reddish-colored star Antares appears just to the right of the Moon as darkness follows the twilight by 10 o’clock, climbing into the southeast, but not climbing very high. June’s Full Moon, opposite from the Sun, travels low over the southern horizon tonight.