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:
How to see Noctilucent clouds
Another highlight to look out for this month is the chance to see all 5 naked eye visable planets at once. During the last week of June if you look around 3.45am to 4.00am you will be able to see Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn all at once in a line from the northeast to the south east. On the morning of 25th and 26th they are also joined by the Moon.
Sun and Moon
| Date | Sunrise (Irish Time) | Sunset (Irish Time) |
|---|---|---|
| 01/06/2022 | 05:03 | 21:42 |
| 15/06/2022 | 04:56 | 21:54 |
| 30/06/2022 | 05:00 | 21:56 |
| Moon Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| First quarter | 07/06/2021 |
| Full Moon | 14/06/2021 |
| Third quarter | 21/06/2021 |
| New Moon | 29/06/2021 |
Planets
Mercury
Mercury is best seen at the end of June in the morning sky. Look for it after the 20th, very low in the northeast around 4am. If you need help finding it. The crescent moon will be close on the morning of 27th.
Venus
Venus is also located in the morning sky in June. It will be very bright and you an see it from around 3.45 am low in the northeast. Look out for a nice conjunction with the Moon and Mercury on 26th June.
Mars
Mars is in the morning sky in June. It rises around 3am at the start of the month but by the end of the June it will rise around 3am. Towards the end of June it will rise around 2am. Look for it in the east.
Jupiter
Jupiter is an early morning object in June. It rises approximately around 3 am at the start of the month. By then end of the month is rises just after 1am. Look for it in the east close to the horizon.
Saturn
Saturn is also a morning object. It rises slightly earlier than Jupiter, at around 2 am at the start of the month. By the end of the month it will rise around midnight, so you might catch it before bed. It will be in the southeast.
Stars and Constellations
The above sky chart is for 23:00 on 15/06/2022. 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 