June 2026 – What’s Up!

Week of 29th June

• Astronomical Twilight does not end until the 21st July.
• Jupiter (-1.8) is becoming increasingly difficult to observe as it sinks to the west, setting at 22:40 BST in the twilight. Venus (-4.1) continues to dominate the western evening sky. Saturn (+0.8) rises at 01:09 BST and Mars (+1.3) rises at 02:36 BST, rewarding the early bird!
• The bright, though low Moon pushes us towards a gaggle of Globular Clusters this week. Start with M5 (+5.7) in Serpens at 24,000 light years away, then move to Ophiuchus to find M12 (+6.1) at 16,000 ly and M10 (+6.6) at 14,000 ly. Finish with the challenging M4 (+5.4) in Scorpius, low to the southern horizon just to the west of red giant star Antares, Alpha Scorpii (+1.1). M4 is ‘only’ 7,000 light years from Earth!
• The Moon is Full on Tuesday – the Strawberry Moon.
• The Sun currently has 6 active regions (including the huge AR 4478) and the sunspot number is 119.
• There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 22nd June

• Astronomical Twilight does not end until the 21st July.
• The evening planets are, from west to east, Mercury (+1.2), Jupiter (-1.8), and Venus (-4.0). They are quite low to the horizon, with Venus setting at around 23:47 BST this week.
• The morning planets are: Neptune (+7.9), Saturn (+0.8), Mars (+1.3), and Uranus (+5.8). Find the planets low to the eastern horizon before sunrise, which is at around 04:50 BST this week.
• Hercules is our target constellation this week. We start with two globular clusters, the famous Great Hercules Cluster, M13 (+5.8), and the lesser known M92 (+6.5) about 10° northeast of M13. Then we have two double stars, the first is Rasalgethi, Alpha Herculis (+3.4), his lower left foot, which is an easy split at 4.6″, the second is much tougher at just 1.5″ separation, head to the bottom right of the ‘Keystone’ to find Zeta Herculis (+2.8). Good luck!
• The Moon is Waxing Gibbous all week.
• The Sun currently has 5 active regions and the sunspot number is 73
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 15th June

• Astronomical Twilight does not end until the 21st July.
• The Summer Solstice is at 09:25 BST on Sunday. This is when the Sun reaches its most northerly point in the sky and appears to ‘stand still’, marking the start of astronomical summer here in the northern hemisphere.
• Mercury (+0.6) reaches Greatest Eastern Elongation on Monday, when it is at its furthest apparent separation from the Sun as viewed from Earth. Spot the planet close to the western horizon just after sunset.
• Jupiter (-1.8) and Venus (-4.0) are moving apart again after last week’s conjunction, but continue to dominate the western evening sky in the dusk. Spot Saturn (+0.8) and Mars (+1.3) in the east just before sunrise.
• A lack of darkness around the June solstice means visual astronomy can be a little limited and certainly a late night affair! Head to Scorpius for some summer treats, starting with Antares, Alpha Scorpii (+1.1), a red supergiant that is also a double star, with its companion of mag +5.4 at 2.5″ separation, making it a tricky double to split. Two globular clusters complete the Scorpius tour: M4 (+5.4) at 7,200 light years away and M80 (+7.3) 33,000 light years away.
• The Moon is New on Monday, and First Quarter on Sunday.
• The Sun currently has 3 active regions and the sunspot number is 41.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 8th June

• Astronomical Twilight does not end until the 21st July.
• Venus (-4.0) and Jupiter (-1.9) are in conjunction on Tuesday; see the two bright planets only 1.5° apart, about 20° above the horizon in the western evening sky. Mercury (+0.1) is at an altitude of about 15° a little further to the north. Early risers can catch Mars (+1.3) just above the eastern horizon in the hour before sunrise, which is at around 04:50 BST this week.
• We are in the heart of the Summer Triangle for the deep sky challenge this week, starting with the globular cluster M56 (+8.4) at 31,000 light years away in Lyra. Next to Cygnus and the wonderful summer double star, Albireo (+3.1), the beak of the Swan. We finish in the heart of Cygnus with the open cluster M29 (+6.6), which is about 5,000 light years away.
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Monday.
• The Sun currently has 8 active regions and the sunspot number is 139.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 1st June

• Astronomical Twilight does not end until the 21st July.
• The Sun sets at around 21:15 BST this week, leaving behind it a trail of planets above the western horizon, starting with Mercury (-0.6) as it approaches greatest eastern elongation next week, next is Venus (-4.0), which doesn’t reach elongation until August, and then Jupiter (-1.9), which is coming to the end of its apparition this year. Watch as Venus and Jupiter steadily approach one another through the week.
• We head to the edge of the Summer Triangle and the constellation of Lyra for this week’s observing challenge. Start with the Double Double (+5.0), a multiple star system composed of two double stars, each with separations of about 2.3 arcseconds. Next to Sheliak, Beta Lyrae (+3.5) a variable double star that is an eclipsing binary, varying between +3.5 and +6.7 with a period of 12.9 days. We finish with the wonderful Ring Nebula, M57 (+8.8), a stunning planetary nebula about 1400 light years away.
• The Moon is Waning Gibbous all week.
• The Sun currently has 9 active regions and the sunspot number is 133.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).