Tour June's Sky — By Ear and Eye!

This month you have a chance to see three (or four) bright planets. Mars and Saturn are nearing the end of long-running appearances in the evening sky that began late last year. In the west you'll see two obvious stars that seem unusually close together. The brighter one is the planet Saturn. Next to it is Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.

Mars is to their lower right — but watch how it closes in on them as the month progresses!

Jupiter, king of the planets, makes a late-evening appearance low in the east. But by month's end it'll rise not long after sunset.

Likewise, by the end of June you might be able to spot Mercury before dawn low in the east.

To get a personally guided tour of these sights and others, hosted by Kelly Beatty, S&T's Executive Editor, download this month's audio sky tour to your iPod or other handheld device — or just use your computer to play it.