June 11–24, 2022
MOUNT WASHINGTON — In early evening twilight, near the top of an azure sky, a singular golden point of light appears to the inquisitive sky gazer. It is Arcturus (-0.07magnitude), the brightest star in the summer sky, high in the southeast at about 9:10 p.m. Gazing in a northerly direction, one other ray of starlight penetrates Earth’s dimming blue atmosphere: it is the second brightest star, bluish-white Vega (0.00m), not quite as high, in the east-northeast. A waxing gibbous moon floats below Arcturus each evening through the 13th.
Enjoy sunset in the northwest at 8:29 p.m. this evening, the 11th. On Tuesday the 14th, the Full Strawberry Moon rises at 9:19 p.m. in the southeast. Look later where views to the horizon are obstructed by hills or buildings.
Summer Solstice, June 21, marks the Sun’s northernmost and highest point in our sky. The latest sunsets of the year in our locale, within about a minute of 8:34 p.m., take place from June 19 through July 6. Civil twilight begins half an hour after sunset; astronomical twilight, genuine darkness, roughly two hours after sunset.
Earliest sunrises of the year, 5:17 a.m., began on June 8 and continue through June 22. The longest days of the year, which we are basking in right now, culminate next week when, from the 19th through the 24th, there are 15 hours and 16 minutes from sunrise to sunset. The remaining 8 hours 44 minutes includes morning and evening twilight! Read Eyes to the Sky June 2020 for a dedicated solstice celebration edition.
This sketch shows the Full Strawberry Moon in the southeast at 11 p.m. on June 14, with summer’s brightest stars, iconic constellations and asterisms. The view is similar, except for the phase and position of the moon, for the duration of this post. Accounting for stars rising a few minutes earlier each day and the moon rising later, make this map workable an hour earlier, at about 10 p.m. by the 24th.
Marking the astronomical beginning of summer, the Summer Triangle asterism, visible in the east to northeast at nightfall, travels the sky all night. Altair (0.75m), the last vertex of the Triangle to come into view, clears the eastern horizon at 8:48 p.m. this evening: look for Altair when darkness gathers.
Find three celestial birds in June’s evening sky: Cygnus the Swan, east; Aquila the Eagle, east-southeast; and Corvus the Crow, southwest. Refer to the lead artwork to place Aquila the Eagle at the lower point of the Summer Triangle, opposite Cygnus the Swan. Find Corvus the Crow in the southwest.
Iconic summer constellation, Scorpius the Scorpion travels along the horizon all night. Its heart star, red Antares (1.03m), may be seen in locations where the whole figure is lost in an obstructed horizon or to light pollution.
In closing, for early morning, i.e. 4:15 a.m., astronomy enthusiasts, I am following up my appreciation of morning planets, expressed in April’s Eyes to the Sky with news of the current five-planet extravaganza offered courtesy of EarthSky.org
