It never truly gets dark this month. For the sky to be completely dark, the Sun must get at least 18 degrees below the horizon and this never happens in June from Ireland. The summer solstice occurs this year on 21st June. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, in terms of daylight, at 17 hours in Ireland. One of the highlights of June are noctilucent clouds which can be seen some evenings shining in the north after sunset and before sunrise. I have another post about noctilucent clouds and the link is below:
https://thescienceshedproject.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/noctilucent-clouds/
Solar Eclipse
Caution: Never look at the sun directly with your eyes, optical equipment or camera without adequate filters.
The highlight of this month is a partial solar eclipse that will take place on the morning of June 10th. The eclipse will begin at around 10:05 (Irish time) and conclude at around 12:20 Irish time, with greatest eclipse around 11:10 (Irish time). To find out how to see the eclipse safely, check out my other post which will be published a few days before.
Sun and Moon
| Date | Sunrise (Irish Time) | Sunset (Irish Time) |
|---|---|---|
| 01/06/2021 | 05:03 | 21:43 |
| 15/06/2021 | 04:56 | 21:54 |
| 30/06/2021 | 05:00 | 21:56 |
| Moon Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| Third quarter | 02/06/2021 |
| New Moon | 10/06/2021 |
| First quarter | 18/06/2021 |
| Full Moon | 24/06/2021 |
Planets
Mercury
Mercury is hard to see as it is so close to the Sun. Make sure the Sun has set before looking for it. It is possible to see Mercury after sunset in the northwest for the first few days of the month. After the 11th June, Mercury is a morning object and it is hard to see.
Venus
Venus is located quite close to the Sun this month but you can see it in the evening sky for about an hour and a half after sunset. It will be low in the northwest.
Mars
Mars will be visible in twilight this month so will be very hard to see.
Jupiter
Jupiter is an early morning object in June. It rises approximately around 2 am at the start of the month. By then end of the month is rises just after midnight, so you might just catch it before bed. Look for it in the southeast close to the horizon.
Saturn
Saturn is also a morning object and isn’t far from Jupiter. It rises slightly earlier, at around 1.30 am at the start of the month. By the end of the month it will rise around 11.30 pm. It will be in the southeast, a little west of Jupiter.
Stars and Constellations
The above sky chart is for 23:00 on 15/06/2021. You can click on the chart to open a new tab and bring you to Heavens Above. On this website you can generate a custom chart for the time and date you wish. The spring constellations of Leo (the lion), Bootes (the herdsman) and Virgo (the virgin) take prominence overhead. An interesting fact about the constellation of Virgo is that the galaxy M87 is located in Virgo. M87 contains the supermassive black hole which astronomers managed to image the shadow of in 2019.
Over in the east we can see the summer constellations. Cygnus (the swan), Lyra (the liar) and Aquila (the eagle). The brightest stars in these constellations are Deneb, Vega and Altair and they make up the Summer Triangle which we will see rise overhead in June and July. Hercules (the hunter) is also to the east at this time of year.
In the south at this time of year is the constellation of Scorpius (the scorpion). This is the direction of the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. It never rises very high in the sky from Ireland, but if you look in the direction you should be able to make out that it is almost misty or milky with stars.
Paul Smith 