June 2022 – What’s Up!

Week of 27th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • With no moonlight, this week is optimal for deep sky observing. Interesting targets include: Globular Clusters such as M13 and M92 in Hercules, the Coathanger asterism in Vulpecula, the Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra, the double star Albireo in Cygnus as well as the arc of the Milky Way across our summer sky – a treat by naked eye or to explore with binoculars
  • The Moon is New on Wednesday
  • The Sun currently has two active regions: AR 3038 & 3040. The sunspot number is 31
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 20th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • The Summer Solstice is on Tuesday, when the Sun will reach its most northerly point in the sky at a declination of +23.5°. The exact time of the Solstice will be 10:08 BST. Tuesday will be the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere, with sunrise at 04:50 BST and sunset at 21:27 BST. The solstice marks the astronomical start of summer
  • The Waning Moon passes the bright morning planets throughout this week, from west to east: Saturn (+0.6), Jupiter (-2.4), Mars (+0.5) and Venus (-3.9)
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Tuesday
  • The Sun currently has nine active regions: AR 3030, 3031, 3032, 3033, 3034, 3035, 3037, 3038 & 3039. The sunspot number is 145
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 13th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • All eight planets of the solar system are visible in our morning sky this week, from east to west: Mercury (mag +0.6), Venus (-3.9), Uranus (+5.8), Mars (+0.6), Jupiter (-2.3), Neptune (+7.9), Saturn (+0.7) and finally, look around to spot Earth! Sunrise is at about 04:50 BST all week, so an early rise is required for this observing challenge
  • Mercury reaches Greatest Western Elongation on Thursday, with about 23° of apparent separation from the Sun. This is the ideal time to spot the innermost planet of the solar system; look to the east-north-east at about 8° above the horizon in the half hour before sunrise
  • The Moon is Full on Tuesday – the Strawberry Super Moon, so named as Full Moon occurs at the same time as perigee, when the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit. Whilst the Moon will be slightly larger and slightly brighter than at apogee, to the extent of about 14%, this will be imperceptible. However, it will appear largest as it rises on Tuesday evening at 22:08 BST when it is close to the horizon, creating the Moon illusion
  • The Sun currently has three active regions: AR 3029, 3030 & 3031. The sunspot number is 41
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 6th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • The four naked eye planets line up in our morning sky this week in distance order from east to west: Venus (magnitude -4.0), Mars (+0.6), Jupiter (-2.3) and Saturn (+0.7). The two Ice Giants are also visible, but you will need binoculars, with Neptune (+7.9) about 9° west of Jupiter and Uranus (+5.9) about 4° east of Venus
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday
  • The Sun currently has six active regions: AR 3023, 3024, 3026, 3027, 3028 & 3029. The sunspot number is 75
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

 

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