he sky in June will see a curious chase among the stars: Mars, which moves from the constellation of Cancer to that of Leo, will be closely followed by Venus, which increasingly anticipates the time of its sunset with respect to the Sun. But this month will also welcome the longest day of the year, as recalled by the Unione Astrofili Italiani: the summer solstice falls on June 21st, exactly at 4.58 pm Italian time. That day we will have 15 hours and 15 minutes of light: the Sun will rise at 5.36 and set at 20.51, officially kicking off the northern summer and southern winter. The most interesting events of the month concern various conjunctions observable in the early hours of the night, starring the Moon, Mars, Venus and the star cluster M 44, also known as the ‘Crib Cluster’. On June 2, for example, Mars will pass right in front of the cluster and will therefore appear to be at the center of this group of stars. The Crib will again be the protagonist on the night of June 13, but this time it will be Venus who will make the close encounter. Finally, on the evening of 22 June, the procession of stars that will be visible in the western sky should not be missed: the crescent Moon will be found in the constellation of Leo, followed by Mars and Venus and also by the star cluster M 44, which however, it will only be visible with the help of binoculars or a small telescope. The summer constellations dominate the night sky. In the late evening it will be possible to admire, on the southeast horizon, that of Scorpio, where we find the brilliant Antares, a red supergiant star, while in the west we will be able to observe the slow setting of the great constellations of Leo and Virgo in succession. High in the sky we find the two brightest stars of the season: the westernmost is Arcturus, in the constellation of Bootes, and the other is Vega, in that of Lyra, which together with Deneb of Cygnus and Altair of Aquila forms the so-called ‘ summer triangle’.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
