Big Dipper

Uranus is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 7:00 UT; Mercury is in superior conjunction at 21:00 UT.

Full Moon (known as the Fruit, Grain, Green Corn, or Sturgeon Moon) occurs at 1:45 UT; Neptune is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 15:00 UT.

The Moon is at perigee, subtending nearly 34 arc minutes from a distance of 362,264 kilometers (225,102 miles), at 1:00 UT; Mars is 6 degrees south of Pollux at 11:00 UT.

First Quarter Moon occurs at 10:56 UT.

Saturn is 3 degrees north of the Moon at 8:00 UT; the Lunar X, also known as the Werner or Purbach Cross, an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect involving various ridges and crater rims located between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 18:44 UT.

The Moon is 0.6 degree north of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis), with an occultation visible from central Asia, northern India, China, southern Japan, southeast Asia, the Philippines, and the Marshall Islands, at 9:00 UT; the peak of the Perseid meteor shower (a zenithal hourly rate of 60 to 100 per hour) occurs at 18:00 UT.

Venus is 5 degrees north of the Moon at 2:00 UT.

Exploring Mars Stars are full of variety - they can be big or little, bright or dim. Our sun is right in the middle - Mr Average - but eventually it will grow old and become a red giant. Lucie Green and Chris Lintott discuss the lives of stars and what happeIt's a golden era of exploration on Mars, with Nasa's space rover Curiosity finding out new and exciting things about the planet and which might offer the best chance of life elsewhere in our solar system. The spacecraft Mars Express is also celebrating a decade at the red planet and Chris Lintott and Lucie Green pick out some of the highlights, including the 'face of Mars'. Meanwhile Jon Culshaw explores the Moore Moon Marathon with astronomers in Chipping Norton. Upcoming broadcasts of this edition can be found by clicking here.

Asteroid 4 Vesta is in conjunction with the Sun at 4:00 UT; New Moon (lunation 1121) occurs at 21:51 UT.

Mercury is 7 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 3:00 UT; Mercury is 4 degrees north of the Moon at 9:00 UT.

Asteroid 3 Juno (magnitude 9.0) is at opposition at 1:00 UT; Mars is 5 degrees north of the Moon at 11:00 UT.

The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29 arc minutes from a distance of 405,832 kilometers (252,172 miles), at 9:00 UT; Jupiter is 4 degrees north of the Moon at 22:00 UT.

Solstice Duration: 20 minutes Every year thousands flock to Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice. Seeing the rise of the summer sun at Stonehenge is one of the most obvious connections between ancient man and the celestial calendar, but there is still fierce debate about possible links between this ancient site and the moon and stars. The team join in the solstice revelry and also launch the Moore Moon Marathon, with some easy things to look at on the moon over summer. Upcoming broadcasts of this edition not yet listed on the BBC website at the time of making this post (01/07/2013).

The Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to occur at 10:33 UT.

Mercury is at greatest western elongation (20 degrees) at 9:00 UT.

The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower (15 per hour) peaks at 3:00 UT; Last Quarter Moon occurs at 17:43 UT.

Uranus is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 22:00 UT.

Neptune is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 6:00 UT.

Venus is 1.2 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 4:00 UT; Mars is 0.8 degree north of Jupiter at 5:00 UT; Full Moon, known as the Hay or Thunder Moon, occurs at 18:16 UT.

Saturn is 3 degrees north of the Moon at 1:00 UT.

First Quarter Moon occurs at 3:18 UT; the Moon is 0.3 degree north of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis), with an occultation occurring in the northwestern portion of South America, southern Central America, the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands, and the northern Pacific Ocean, at 4:00 UT; Mars is 0.4 degree south of M35 at 20:00 UT.

The Lunar X, also known as the Werner or Purbach Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 7:46 UT.

Venus is 7 degrees north of the Moon at 23:00 UT.

Mercury is in inferior conjunction at 19:00 UT.

New Moon (lunation 1120) occurs at 7:14 UT.