Sunday is Father’s Day—and it is also the first day of summer, which officially begins at 9:38 a.m. when the sun reaches its northern most position in the sky.
This is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, often called the summer solstice.
To celebrate the solstice and Father’s Day, look for beautiful Venus and Jupiter in the western sky after sunset (7:34 p.m.). As the sky darkens, you will notice respectively from right to left Venus, Jupiter, and the 5-day-old moon. Venus and Jupiter are only 5 degrees apart.
In the predawn sky, Mercury is reasonably prominent and will be at its greatest western elongation (distance) from the sun Wednesday. Look toward the east on Wednesday at 4:30-4:45 a.m. to see Mercury low on the horizon only 2 degrees north (left) of Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. Look for them with binoculars if the sky is too bright to easily see them.
