Morning sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 5:40 am local time on Thursday June 16 showing the full Moon in total eclipse. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.

The June edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.

June has less action in the morning skies than May, but it is still worth watching. The bright planets are stretched out in a line. Jupiter is prominent, Venus comes closer to the horizon and Mercury is lost from view. Mars comes close to the Pleiades.

The Moon undergoes the longest total eclipse since 2000 on the morning of June 16. The sun rises as the Moon is still eclipsed. This should be great if the clouds hold off.

Saturn is well past opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth. Saturn is still an excellent telescopic object in the evening. Good telescopic observation can be had from around 8:30 pm on.