June is a wonderful time for night-sky observers in the southern hemisphere. The rich star fields of the Milky Way galaxy stretch right across the sky from the south-west to the north-east. Looking south, you will be met with a rich variety of objects visible with just the naked eye, or with binoculars or a small telescope. M22 in the constellation Sagittarius is an impressive globular cluster, while the emission nebula M8, also called the Lagoon Nebula, is a fine target for binoculars. Meanwhile, Omega Centauri, arguably the finest globular cluster in the sky, sits at the heart of Centaurus, the Centaur.

You cannot fail to spot the constellation Scorpius, which has one of the most recognisable patterns in the sky. It is home to many excellent targets for an amateur telescope, including the marvellous open clusters M6 and M7 found near its tail. Scorpius’ brightest star is the orange-red Antares, which is a supergiant with a diameter about 800 times that of our own star, the sun.

While there may be more impressive sights in the southern part of the June sky, there is also much to see when looking north, such as the globular clusters M13 and M92 in the constellations Hercules. There are also plenty of interesting clusters to look at in Ophiuchus. Besides the two globular clusters M10 and M12 and the open cluster NGC 6633, be sure to look out for the open cluster IC 4665. It is composed of a group of 30 stars and is a lovely sight through binoculars.

This month’s conjunctions, which is when two astronomical objects appear close to each other, include the moon and Mars on June 1, Venus and Eris on June 5, the moon and Saturn on June 19, the moon and Venus on June 22, the moon and Mercury on June 27, Saturn and Neptune on June 29, and the moon and Mars on June 30.

By Nerida Langcake
This article appeared in the June 2025 issue of the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.