Sky at Night – June 2020

There is no true night during June in Scruton; the sky is not black but rather a beautiful velvet deep blue, merging to turquoise on the northern horizon. Look out for Noctilucent Clouds in the hour before and after midnight, as they catch the light of the midnight sun.

The summer solstice occurs on 20th June, marking the astronomical start of summer with the longest day and shortest night here in the UK, and thereafter night length increases once again. The season of summer lasts about 94 days.

Full Moon is on the 5th and is the lowest Full Moon of this year. Mercury is at greatest elongation east of the Sun (24º) on the 4th, and the best chance to view it is during the first half of June in the twilight of the NW sky. It sets 2 hours after the Sun during the first few days of June, but this rapidly decreases throughout the month.  Venus loses its brilliant appearance as the ‘Evening Star’ and slowly emerges into morning twilight before the end of June.