The Night Sky This Week

Each Monday, I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere). Check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

The Night Sky This Week: June 23-29, 2025

With solstice out of the way, the evenings lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere. Not much, but just enough to allow some stargazing to be done. That is helped somewhat by the moon, which this week is a beautiful slim crescent in the pre-dawn sky, where it will dazzle with Venus. Meanwhile, in the quiet hours after midnight, the Milky Way begins to look its best. Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and astronomy this week:

Monday, June 23: Crescent Moon And The Pleiades

A spectacular sight awaits if you have the willpower to get up really early. Look east-northeast from around 3:30 a.m. local time for a slim waning crescent moon rising less than half a degree from the Pleiades open cluster of stars (also known as M45 and the Seven Sisters), with Venus shining brightly close by. Stunning!

Thursday, June 26: Crescent Moon, Mercury And Gemini

About 45 minutes after sunset, scan the west-northwest horizon to find a paper-thin waxing crescent Moon — just 3.4%-lit — alongside Mercury and Gemini’s twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Each of the four objects will appear to be a couple of degrees apart.

Friday, June 27: Crescent Moon And Mercury

A slightly plumper crescent moon, now 9%-lit, will this evening shine to the upper-right of tiny Mercury, a planet that is rarely this simple to see. Earthshine — sunlight reflected from clouds and oceans — will be visible on the moon’s shadowed side.

Saturday, June 28: Moon, Regulus And Mars

Another post-sunset viewing of the crescent moon, now 16%-lit and climbing higher into the western sky, will also clock bright star Regulus and the planet Mars. They’ll appear a couple of degrees from each other.

Sunday, June 29: Moon And Mars In Conjunction

Here’s the week’s celestial highlight — a very close conjunction of the moon and Mars. During the event, which will take place after sunset in the west, the two solar system objects will appear less than a fifth of a degree apart at their closest. Get everyone outside looking up at this rare and beautiful sight.

Object of the Week: June’s Milky Way

Though technically visible year-round, the Milky Way begins to impress in late June for Northern Hemisphere sky-watchers. Around midnight, the galaxy’s core begins to rise in the south, its billions of stars visible to anyone with clear dark skies (ideally Bortle class 1–3) and the patience to allow their eyes to adapt to the dark (night vision takes at least 20–30 minutes). Ignore your smartphone, use a red flashlight and look — you’ll be amazed at how clear it looks and how relaxed you’ll become watching our galaxy arc across the night sky.

The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.