Look at the east-northeast horizon before dawn on Monday (June 27) to see the moon end its lunar orbit with Mercury.
“The silver crescent of the old moon will glow with several finger widths in the upper left corner (or 3.5 degrees north) from the bright spot of mercury“, Writes Chris Vaughn, an amateur astronomer with SkySafari Software, who monitors the Night Sky calendar on Space.com.
The couple will be close enough to share the view of a pair of binoculars (represented by the green circle in the image). But Vaughn warns observers to turn the optics from the eastern horizon before the sun rises.
Connected: The brightest planets in the night sky in June: How to see them (and when)
The moon can be quite difficult to spot at first glance, as it will be a very thin crescent, illuminated by only 3% according to Space.com’s sky-watching columnist Joe Rao.
If you are looking for an additional challenge to watch the sky, look out for Aldebaran. According to Rao, the orange star of the first magnitude will shine about 7 degrees to the left of Mercury.
Monday morning is also your last good chance to catch a glimpse of the moon joining the rare planetary alignment that is present this month. Throughout June, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn have arranged from left to right in their left-to-right orbital order in the southeastern sky.
We hope you take a good picture of the moon and mercury? Our guide on how to photograph the moon has some useful tips. If you are looking for a camera, here is our review of the best astrophotography cameras and the best astrophotography lenses. As always, our guides to the best telescopes and the best binoculars can help you prepare for the next great sky-watching event.
Editor’s note: If you take a picture of the moon near Mercury, let us know! You can send images and comments to spacephotos@space.com.
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