Eclipse season brings June 10 event to polar regions

The moon is 5 degrees south of Jupiter on June 1, a day away from last quarter. These events are early morning ones, so be prepared to get up early.

Uranus is 2 degrees north of the waning crescent moon June 6. Later that same day, the moon reaches apogee, its greatest distance away from Earth in its elliptical orbit. The moon is new on June 10, and because it’s so far away, it can’t completely cover the sun.

This is eclipse season, and the annular solar eclipse of June 10 is getting much attention by Canadian observers; some may even view it. The eclipse path wraps around Canada’s polar regions, beginning in northern Ontario and northern Manitoba, sweeping across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, and ending away over in Siberia.

June 12, Venus is 1.5 degrees south of the moon, and June 13, Mars is three degrees south of the moon, both events in the western evening sky. June 24, the moon is full. At the end of the month, we welcome Saturn and Jupiter (again) ‑ Saturn June 27 and Jupiter June 28, both four degrees north of a waning gibbous moon.

Mercury is at inferior conjunction June 10, so in front of the sun and hidden from view.

Venus swung around from behind the sun and will be a beacon in the west for the rest of the summer as the Evening Star. The thin sliver of a moon sidles up to the bright planet June 11 and 12, gliding by as the western world sleeps.

Mars is just to the east of Venus, so gets visited by the waxing crescent moon right away on June 13. The Red Planet is slowly getting further and further away, as Earth is orbiting much faster, so leaves Mars behind.

Jupiter rises in the east around 1:15 a.m. early in the month, closer to midnight near the end of June. The moon is in the picture June 28.

Saturn rises before Jupiter, crossing the sky all through the night. The moon joins up June 27.

Uranus rises around 4 a.m., just before sunup, so doesn’t present much of a window for viewing. The waxing crescent moon is two degrees south of the blue-green planet June 6 and 7.

Neptune rises in the east around midnight, a little later than the giant planets, only it’s much further away, so needs magnification for a good view.

The days are longer, and warmer, but June 21 marks the day the sun reaches its most northerly place on the analemma – the summer solstice – and the days begin to get shorter. The sun doesn’t actually do anything, it’s the Earth’s axial pole reaching its maximum tilt toward the sun that is the solstice. And, conversely, the Southern Hemisphere experiences its winter solstice on the same day; Earth’s South Pole is at its maximum tilt away from the sun.

James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000, was national president for two terms, is now the editor of the Observer’s Handbook, and production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour and he was recently awarded a Fellowship of the RASC.