Night Sky in June 2020: All astronomical events you can see this month

The night sky has been mesmerizing us since the origin of the human race. With so many things happening in the sky, it is hard to control oneself from admiring the beauty of the night, the moon, stars, and more. While there have been many astronomical events occurring in 2020, June has offered us with several such experiences starting from the Strawberry Moon Eclipse to The Big Dipper as a Star Pointer. There are still so many events left for us in June 2020 to admire the night sky. Here is a list of few night sky events that you might love to witness this month.

Night Sky in June 2020 - All remaining events of the month

Crescent Moon near Uranus

As per reports, the Old Moon will pass below Uranus in the eastern sky before dawn on Wednesday, June 17. The blue-green planet will be visible in telescopes and binoculars, especially for the observers at the southerly latitudes where the surrounding sky will be darker. 

Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter 

On Friday i.e. June 19, 2020, observers across Asia will be able to witness the double shadow transit of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. The small black circular shadows cast by Jupiter's Moons can be seen in any type of telescope as they transit the planet's disk for several hours. At 12:03 AM IST, Friday, Ganymede's larger shadow will join Europa's smaller shadow and then 40 minutes later Europa's shadow will move off the planet at 12:43 AM IST, leaving Ganymede's shadow to complete its crossing completely. 

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Crescent Moon meets Venus

On Friday i.e. June 19, in a few hours after the sunrise, the incredibly slim crescent of the Moon will be seen very close to our solar system's bright planet, Venus. To witness the moment, one must look for the pair just above the East-Northeastern horizon and they will be able to observe the moon and Venus fitting together in the field of view of binoculars and backyard telescopes. One can also click a nice widefield photograph when composed with foreground scenery. Observers in India will be able to see this event at 01:30 PM IST.

June Solstice

On Sunday, June 21 at 03:14 AM IST, the sun will reach its northernmost declination for the year. This results in the longest daylight hours of the year for the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest daylight hours of the year for the Southern Hemisphere. The solstice is considered to mark the beginning of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

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New Moon and Annular Solar Eclipse

At its new phase on Sunday, June 21 at 12:11 PM IST, the moon will be travelling between the Earth and the sun. Since sunlight is only shining on the side of the moon aimed away from us, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun. This means the moon will be hidden from view everywhere on Earth for about a day. However, this new moon will only occur 6.2 days past apogee which will result in a thin-ringed annular solar eclipse visible across central Africa and southern Asia. The path of totality for this eclipse will commence at 16:48 CAT in central Africa. Greatest eclipse, with 98.8% of the sun blocked by the moon, will occur for 38 seconds at 12:10 PM IST in Northeastern India, where the sun will be at an altitude of 83°. 

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Neptune Reverses Direction

On Tuesday, June 23, the Neptune Retrograde will mark its presence in its regular eastward orbital motion through the background stars. This retrograde loop will last until the end of November. On this date, you'll find the beautiful planet in eastern Aquarius, sitting at 6.5 degrees to the west of Mars and 3.5 degrees east of the medium-bright star Phi Aquarii. However, during the coming months, Neptune will move toward that star. 

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All images are from starrynight.com