CELESTIAL REPORT: The summer solstice falls late in the day on Friday, June 20 in the United States and is the first official day of summer. The North Pole will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer.
June 25 is the new moon. This is when the Moon is located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun. Just before, during, and after a new moon is an ideal time to observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters since there is little or no moonlight.
To close out June we have, or may not have, the Bootid meteor shower. And with a new moon the conditions may be ideal. The peak is around June 27 but this shower known for its unpredictability. Some years you can see up to 100 meteors per hour, others just a few. The radiant point is above the horizon all night so the potential is there to see something anytime but soon after dusk may be your best bet. Look towards the constellation Bootes (The Herdsman).
One final note, on June 26 you may see some action from Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. RockOn! is a hands-on workshop teaching participants how to create a sounding rocket experiment from scratch over a 5-day period and then launching it into space on the 6th day of the workshop. Launch day is the 26th.
Photo caption: Moonlight Pier by Andrew Gosden
