Long Days (and nights) of Summer

“And the sun and the moon sometimes argue over who will tuck me in at night. If you think I am having more fun than anyone on this planet, you are absolutely correct.” ~ Hafiz

It’s daylight that has the, ahem, spotlight on it this month. The Northern Hemisphere has its longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice, on June 21st. It’s the official first day of summer when the sun is at its highest in the sky. Solstice derives from the Latin solstitium; sol meaning “sun” and stit meaning “standing”. Put it together and you get “sun stands (still)”.

But the big news is the Annular Solar Eclipse on June 10 that sadly, Floridians will miss. Visibility for the full show will be in Russia, the Arctic Ocean, western Greenland, and northern Canada. This solar eclipse will feature a “Ring of Fire”; the smaller moon won’t completely cover the sun when it passes, so a “ring” of sunlight will remain visible around the moon.

There will be parts of the U.S. that gets a partial eclipse – just not Florida. New York and New England states will wake up in the wee hours of the morning, around 5:25 AM, to see a rising “crescent” sun. Those northern states will get to see about 80-percent of the sun’s diameter eclipsed during the entire event. Minnesota, the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Carolinas, and mid-Atlantic states will see a small, quick partial eclipse as the event concludes, around 6:00 AM EST. The sun will be rising close to the horizon at this time. So maybe now is a good time to get out and be a reverse snowbird – or maybe more accurately a sunbird! Just remember, whether it is the full or partial eclipse, never look directly at the sun without proper eye protection!

Of course, there are still plenty of stars and planets to see at night, all accompanied by the moon.

June Planets: On June 11 look west-northwest about 45-minutes after sunset. The crescent moon is to the lower right of Venus in the constellation of Gemini. Can you see Gemini? Imagine a large dog walking between two people. Now imagine that Venus is that dog. Look to the right, then to the left, and you will see the “legs” of Gemini (Venus is about thigh height). Gaze upward to the two bright stars that make up the twin’s heads: Pollux on the left and Castor on the right. On June 12, the moon moves upward to just under Pollux’s armpit. And then on June 13 the ever-moving moon will be above Mars. Mid-June, Saturn rises just before midnight, trailed by Jupiter which rises roughly an hour later. Letting them move upwards in the sky is the best way to see them, so check just about an hour before sunrise looking south-southwest.

June Stars: Are you familiar with the Summer Triangle? There’s a lot of great reasons to check out this trio of stars as it is most prominent – as the name suggests – in summer! You’ll want to be looking east at sunset or overhead at midnight (remember, these stars move!). The Summer Triangle isn’t a constellation but an asterism consisting of Vega,Deneb, and Altair, three very bright stars that are in different constellations. So, finding the Summer Triangle will help you identify other constellations! Vega is the brightest of the three and is in the constellation Lyra the Harp. To the lower left of Vega is Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Low to the right of Deneb is Altair in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. While it’s great to learn of other constellations, the most exciting part about locating the Summer Triangle is its location in the Milky Way. Find yourself a dark location (no moon) and you can see the Milky Way running through the Summer Triangle. 

Full Moon: On June 24th, we get the last of the three supermoons of the year. The Strawberry Moon is also known as the Rose Moon and the Honey Moon.

Historical events: While our friend Charles Messier and William Herschel were busy as usual, it’s the Tunguska event in 1908 that takes center stage. An explosion of a super bolide meteor or comet just above Earth’s surface flattened over 750 square miles of forest in Siberia. It is the largest “impact” event on Earth post prehistoric times.

Keep looking up!