The planetary extravaganza we were treated to earlier this year has ended, but June nights will still be exciting, with many interesting deep space objects to view.
If you want to view the transit, you will need special equipment. DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH NAKED EYES OR THROUGH A TELESCOPE OR BINOCULARS. You can permanently damage your eyes. You can look at Venus if you have a good solar filter for the front of your telescope. PLEASE do not use any threaded screw on types that come with some older telescopes. The heat building up in the scope can shatter those, leading to eye damage. Only buy a filter from a reliable source, and make sure it covers the whole opening of your telescope. You can also check online; SOHO carries live pictures of the sun, and will most likely show the transit, or do a search online for any other sites that might be showing it. Also, be prepared to get up early; for people in the East to the Midwest, the sun will rise with Venus already in transit. Those farther west will miss out. Check online at the Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, and Space.com websites for more information.
Saturn is rapidly fading in the night sky, and will be lost to us by the end of June. It is very difficult to see a lot on the planet now, since it is in the haze close to the horizon. On July 1, the Cassini spacecraft is due to begin orbiting Saturn, sending back new pictures and data from the ringed planet.
Mars still shines in the western night sky, very close to Saturn. It is very small, and no details are visible on it in even large telescopes. The Mars Rovers are still sending back pictures and data from Mars; go to: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/ for the latest information.
Jupiter still shines bright in the night sky, appearing almost overhead at dusk. You can still get a good look at it, along with the four largest moons. Jupiter will be out of the night sky by late August, so enjoy it now while it is still high overhead.
