2024, June 28: Look for the Summer Milky Way

June 28, 2024: The Summer Milky Way is visible in the southern sky after twilight ends. Before sunrise, find Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the moon.

Perseid Meteor Shower — In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

PODCAST FOR THIS ARTICLE

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:18 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:30 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Saturn and Moon

Chart Caption – 2024, June 28: Saturn and the moon are in the southeastern sky before sunrise.

An hour before sunrise, the slightly gibbous moon, 56% illuminated, is less than halfway up in the southeastern sky. The Last Quarter phase occurs later today at 4:53 p.m. Central Time when the moon is below the horizon in the Americas.

This morning Saturn is nearly 11° to the moon’s right. The Ringed Wonder is slowing its eastward motion to begin to retrograde in two mornings. This is an illusion that occurs when our planet overtakes and passes between an outer planet and the sun.

Jupiter and Mars

Jupiter and Mars are farther eastward. At this hour, the Jovian Giant is nearly 10° above the east-northeast horizon. It is moving eastward in front of Taurus, but most of the stars are too low in the sky for easy visibility and the moon is still bright enough to wash out the dimmer stars.

Mars, moving eastward in front of Aries, is over 20° up in the east and less than 25° to Jupiter’s upper right. The Red Planet closes in on Jupiter, noticeably reducing the distance each morning. The Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs August 14^th.

Evening Sky

Mercury, Venus

No bright planets are visible in the sky after nightfall. Venus is still in bright twilight, setting only 30 minutes after the sun.

Mercury aficionados can attempt to see the speedy planet through a binocular in the west-northwest. It is bright, but at 45 minutes after sunset, it is less than 4° above the horizon. During the next two weeks, the planet gains another 15 minutes of setting time, but it dims as it emerges from brighter twilight.

Perhaps the best night to see the illusive world is the evening of July 7^th, when the thin crescent moon is 3.0° above Mercury, although this pair is visible in brighter twilight. A binocular is needed to see this event.

Summer Milky Way

Without bright planets to view on this summer evening, look for the Milky Way. This view is available each night until the moon brightens in the western sky during the second week of July. At the end of evening twilight and in a location away from urban and suburban lights, look for rosy Antares, the Scorpion’s heart, about 20° up in the southern sky.

To the east of Antares and as eyes adapt to the darkness, a faint light is visible near the southern horizon and extending along a diagonal line toward the northeast. This is the Milky Way. Depending on the location’s darkness and the clarity of the sky, the glow seems to split from dark dust in the way of the crowds of stars and glowing gas clouds.

The Scorpion’s tail can be seen curving along the horizon and then upward ending at two stars.

Photo Caption – This image composite compares the well-known visible-light picture of the glowing Trifid Nebula (left panel) with infrared views from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (remaining three panels). The Trifid Nebula is a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. (Credit: NASA)

Sagittarius’ Teapot is immersed in the Milky Way’s wonder. There is much to see with the unaided eye as well as through a binocular. Begin with two gas clouds, cataloged as Messier 8 (M 8 on the chart), commonly known as the Lagoon Nebula, and Messier 20 (M20), known as the Trifid Nebula.

The Milk Dipper, a name for the pot’s handle, east side of the lid, and another star above, points at the Sagittarius star cloud that is full of celestial wonderment.

The main panel of this graphic contains X-ray data from Chandra (blue) depicting hot gas that was blown away from massive stars near the black hole. Two images of infrared light at different wavelengths from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show stars (orange) and cool gas (purple). These images are seven light years across at the distance of Sgr A*. A pull-out shows the new EHT image, which is only about 1.8 x 10-5 light years across (0.000018 light years, or about 10 light minutes). — Photo Caption – The main panel of this graphic contains X-ray data from Chandra (blue) depicting hot gas that was blown away from massive stars near the black hole. Two images of infrared light at different wavelengths from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show stars (orange) and cool gas (purple). These images are seven light years across at the distance of Sgr A*. A pull-out shows the new EHT image, which is only about 1.8 x 10-5 light years across (0.000018 light years, or about 10 light minutes). (Credit :NASA (EHT Collaboration))

The Milky Way’s center is to the upper right of the Tea Pot’s spout, but it is not visible because stars, nebulae, and dust clouds crowd the view. Several radio telescopes that simultaneously collect data from this region have published a colorized radio map showing the galactic center’s black hole. Radio waves travel through the crowds between the solar system and the Milky Way’s core.

As the July’s waxing moon’s phase reaches a thicker evening crescent, the faint visual whispers are overwhelmed by the moonlight. The window to see the Milky Way after sunset opens again about July 25 and ends around August 10 when the waxing moon reenters the evening sky on a new lunation.

RECENT PODCASTS

LATEST ARTICLES

2026, August 23: Almanac – Jupiter Returns to the Morning Sky While Mars Marches Against Gemini
August 23, 2026: Before sunrise, Jupiter emerges from morning twilight while Mars marches eastward in front of Gemini. Saturn retrogrades in front of Pisces, Venus brightens after sunset, and the waxing gibbous moon glides above Sagittarius.
2026, August 22-25: Waxing Moon Previews the Harvest Moon
August 22-25, 2026: The August waxing gibbous moon previews the Harvest Moon effect as it stays at a similar altitude while moving eastward and rising later each night.
2026, August 21: How to Find Uranus Near the Pleiades Star Cluster Before Dawn
August 21, 2026: Use the Pleiades star cluster, 37 and 39 Tauri, and nearby reference stars to locate Uranus before morning twilight. Follow this binocular guide to identify the Tilted World.
2026, August 20: Venus and Spica – Evening Star Approaches September Conjunction
August 20, 2026: Brilliant Venus shines in the western evening sky, stepping eastward in front of Virgo toward Spica. Watch the Evening Star close the gap before their September 1 conjunction.
2026, August 19: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn Before Sunrise; Venus and Moon After Sunset
August 19, 2026: Mars marches past Gemini near Castor’s foot as Jupiter returns to the morning sky. Saturn retrogrades against Pisces while Venus and the First Quarter moon shine after sunset.