Shropshire's Sky at Night - June

In the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice occurs at 6.16pm on June 21 when the sun reaches its most northerly point in the sky.

The Summer Solstice is an instant in time when the earth is inclined towards the Sun at its maximum of 23 degrees for 26 minutes. It is this inclination that gives us summer; the earth is at a point in its orbit when it is almost at its furthest from the Sun, aphelion.

For a couple of weeks either side of the solstice the sun never sets far below the horizon and a night-long twilight ensues, not great conditions for observing, but a clear sky is all that is required.

• The Society for Popular Astronomy - click here

• The Shropshire Astronomical Society - click here

There is a new moon on June 1, first quarter on June 9, full moon on June 15 and a last quarter moon on June 23.

On June 15 there is an eclipse of the moon. It rises totally eclipsed at 9.20pm and moves out of the Earth's shadow at 10pm. All this happens in a bright dusk sky so it will not be visible.

On June 7 a waxing moon lies close to the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo. The moon passes below the ringed planet Saturn on June 10, then on June 11 it is close to the star Spica in the constellation of Virgo.

On June 14 the full moon is directly above the star Antares in the constellation of Scorpius. In the early hours of June 26, a crescent moon is close to the giant planet Jupiter, then just before dawn on June 28 and 29 it is near the red planet Mars.

Saturn is resplendent in the evening sky. Throughout the month it lies close to the star Porrima that is at the centre of the Y-shaped constellation of Virgo. Saturn sets in the west about 2am and Jupiter rises in the east soon after.

For those with telescopes, the distant planet Neptune rises about 0.30am and can be located in the constellation of Aquarius; the even more distant planet Uranus rises about 1.30am and can be found in the constellation of Pisces. Venus is on the horizon in the dawn twilight. In the last week of June, the red planet Mars rises in the north east about 3am and is positioned in the constellation of Taurus.

Overhead and just to the east is the small but perfectly formed constellation of Lyra, shaped like a Greek lyre. Its dominant white star, Vega, is the fifth brightest star in the sky.

Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the slow periodic change in the orientation of the Earth's axis of rotation, Vega was the Pole Star 12,000 years ago and will be again 14,000 years hence.

For those with a good telescope, the famous Ring Nebula in Lyra, M57, looking like a smoke ring is a wonderful object to behold; the ring of gas was blown off by the central star about 6000 years ago.

For those with binoculars, the globular star cluster M92, at the top of the constellation of Hercules, consists of more than 300,000 stars and is a beautiful sight. Located in the outer limits of our galaxy, there are at least 150 globular clusters, all made up of very old stars formed very early in the life of the Universe.

Ron Iremonger