By Matthew Johnson

Summer begins on June 20 at 10:42 p.m., the evening of the Summer Solstice. On this date the sun will reach its highest altitude of 67 degrees above the equator. The sun will rise at 5:07 a.m. and set at 8:27 p.m., providing 15 hours and 18 minutes of daylight and eight hours and 42 minutes of darkness.
Each of the seasons offers the astronomer something unique, pleasures as well as challenges. During the winter, the skies are clearer and the sun sets earlier than during the summer, generally around 4:30 p.m. This allows one to begin observations 4.5 hours earlier than during mid-summer, when the skies do not completely darken until after 9 p.m.

Solar activity is expected to increase throughout June and July, with a maximum predicted during late July and August. Solar activity is measured by the number of sunspots and other activities related to the sun. The Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association estimates that the total count of visible sunspots in June may exceed 130. When the solar cycle was at a minimum in 2020 there were as few as three to five sunspots for any particular month. This past May, the large number of sunspots were responsible for the considerable number of solar prominences and the related coronal mass ejections which disturbed communications and power grids worldwide.

Planets:
Mercury is one of the most difficult planets to observe. It is the closest to the sun and thus can only be seen just before the sun rises or sets. It is also tiny. From June 12-30, Mercury can be found in the northwest just before 9:15 p.m. Small binoculars will assist.

Mars can be viewed the evenings of June 16, 17 and 18. Look for the brilliant red/orange planet next to Regulus, the bright blue/white star in the constellation Leo shortly after the sun sets. Mars will appear about 18 degrees above the horizon on these evenings.

A planisphere is recommended for ease in locating the constellations in which the planets are to be found during any given month. To view beautiful Venus and the ringed planet Saturn, look to the east before sunrise all month long. Venus is much closer to Earth than Saturn and thus appears much more brilliant, even though Saturn is more than 92 times as massive as Venus.

Venus is often referred to as the morning or evening “star,” even though Venus is a planet. Depending on the orbit of Venus and the earth’s orbit in relation to it, Venus can appear before dawn and months later appear after dusk. This is due to Venus following what is termed a “synodic” cycle. Due to the location of both Earth and Venus in their orbits around the sun, Venus will disappear then reappear on the other side of the sun.

That is why Venus has been recognized with two names by many cultures. In the early medieval language of the Anglo-Saxons, Venus was known as Morgensteorra (morning star) and Aefensteorra (evening star). It was not until around 1250 CE that the name “Venus” was adopted for the planet.

There are no major meteor showers for June.

Moon phases:
June 2: First quarter (right half of moon illuminated).
June 11: Full moon (a difficult time to view celestial objects, especially meteor showers, due to the moon’s glare).
June 18: Last quarter (left half of the moon illuminated).
June 25: New moon (no moon visible). 
June’s full moon is the last full moon of the spring, as summer begins on June 20. The Algonquin tribes called this the Strawberry Moon, as wild strawberries were harvested at this time. n