What's in the Sky: Top Astronomy Events of June 2022
With May ending in a New Moon phase, the month of June will start off with dark skies. These first few nights will be perfect for deep space imaging, as there will be minimal lunar interference. June has some incredible celestial events in store, read on to learn more!
6/4 – Saturn in Retrograde
Saturn will enter retrograde motion. This will halt its usual eastbound movement throughout the constellations, and instead the ringed giant will turn to move westwards instead. This should be visible for a short period of time in the early, pre-dawn sky.
6/14 – Full/Supermoon
The Moon and the Sun will be on opposing sides of the Earth on this night, resulting in the face of the full Moon appearing fully illuminated. This full Moon of the month of June is also sometimes referred to as the “Strawberry Moon”, as it coincides with the peak of strawberry harvesting season. It is also known as the “Rose Moon” or the “Honey Moon”. This marks the first of three supermoons in the year of 2022. The Moon will appear slightly larger and brighter than usual, due to it being at its closest approach to Earth.
6/16 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
The planet Mercury will reach its greatest western elongation on this night. The planet can be located 23.2 degrees west of the Sun, with a shining magnitude of 0.4. This will be one of the better nights to observe the planet Mercury, as it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. It will be viewable at 21:21 UTC. Due to its orbit being much closer to the Sun than Earth, Mercury is only able to be safely observed for a short amount of time as it reaches its greatest elongation.
6/21 – June Solstice
The June solstice is when the North Pole of the Earth is pointed towards the Sun, our planet will have reached its northernmost position in the sky. It marks the first day of summer for those that reside in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter for those in the Southern Hemisphere. This occurrence is also referred to as the Summer or Winter Solstice, depending on where you are located. The solstice will occur at 9:15 UTC.
6/24 – Planetary Alignment
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will all be in a rare alignment. The planets will work towards alignment from June 19-27, with the peak landing on the 24th. While all the aforementioned planets can be viewed with the naked eye, you can also see Uranus with a decent pair of binoculars. And if you have a high quality telescope, you may be able to catch a glimpse of Neptune!
6/29 – New Moon
The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This marks and excellent night for both imaging and viewing!
Conjuntions
A conjunction is when two or more celestial objects appear to be close together while observed from Earth.
| Conjunction date | Celestial Objects in Conjunction | Observation methods |
| 6/18 | The Moon and Saturn | The naked eye or binoculars |
| 6/21 | The Moon and Jupiter | The naked eye or binoculars |
| 6/22 | The Moon and Mars | The naked eye or binoculars |
| 6/26 | The Moon and Venus | The naked eye or binoculars |
That concludes the top astronomy events of June 2022! What did we miss? Which event are you looking forward to the most? Is there anything you would like to add? Let us know in the comments below orContact Us to speak with an expert.
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