Our Moon will be 6.1 days old, still a couple days before First Quarter, with plenty of details visible along the terminator. Venus and Mars are visible briefly as they disappear in the West.

We're three days past the Summer Solstice (June 21 at 7:58:50 AM in Ridgecrest) and longest day of the year.

As the days lengthen, we're starting later in our quest for a dark sky. By 10 PM, the Summer Triangle of bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair should be easily visible in the East, while the bright orange supergiant Antares — the heart of Scorpius — will be climbing in the South. Come early tonight for this short night, as Venus and Mars are close together and will be disappearing into the haze above the mountains to the West by 10 PM. And the Moon will do the same by 11 PM.

The bright center of the Milky Way will be rising to the South. As the Moon goes down and the sky darkens, we may be able to find some interesting nebulas and star clusters in the Milky Way.

Alas, Saturn won't be in good viewing position until after 1 AM, while Jupiter remains down until shortly before sunrise. But over the months, they're slowly moving into our night sky.