Starry skies in June 2024: Shooting stars and the summer solstice make June special

In June, Potes, crowned by the bright, reddish star Arcturus, stands high in the south and dominates the view of the sky. Known as the bull driver or cattle herder, this constellation is considered the guiding star of early summer. The Big Dipper has crossed the noon line and is gradually heading lower. The Romans saw the seven stars of the Big Dipper as seven threshing bulls that were led around the North Star by Butes.

Summer is approaching in the eastern sky. The Summer Triangle is already fully visible, and is made up of the brightest stars from three constellations: the bluish star Vulture in Lyra, the tailed star Deneb in the Swan, and the bluish-white Atyr in Vulture. Vega and Arcturus are among the brightest stars in the northern sky.

A little to the northeast of the bright Ramparts, one encounters a stunning semicircle of stars representing the constellation of the Northern Crown. The brightest star in the semicircle is called Gemma, the sparkling jewel in the crown.

Vernal constellations still dominate the western half of the sky. Far to the west, Leo and Jupiter are preparing for their downfall. In the southwest lies the constellation Virgo with the bluish main star Spica. Deep in the south, the scales cross the noon line. To the east of Libra we find Scorpio and Ophiuchus.

There is also a known meteor shower in June, although it started on May 14. The Aretids peak on June 7, but remain active until June 24. However, it cannot be seen in Central Europe because it only moves across the sky above the horizon during the day.

It is a little easier to see the June Lyres, which begin on June 11 and originate from the constellation Lyra, albeit in a smaller version. The small meteor shower peaks on June 16 with about three meteors per hour. The June Lyrids are still active until June 21st.

Bright planets are still missing from the evening sky. Only in the second half of the night does Saturn appear in the eastern sky. It is currently in the constellation Aquarius and its brightness will increase slightly throughout the month. The second bright planet in the morning sky is Mars, which transits through the constellation Pisces and moves into Aries on the 10th. The brightness of Mars also increases slightly and rises at three-thirty in the morning on the first of June, and at two-quarters of an hour at the end of the month. In Mars' northern hemisphere, winter begins on June 7. Venus disappears behind the sun on June 4 and remains unobservable at night. From August she will appear again as an evening star. Mercury does not appear in June.

Jupiter appears in the morning sky from mid-June and travels through the “golden gate of the solar orbit” in the constellation Taurus. Since dawn has already begun as Jupiter rises, binoculars can be helpful in spotting it.

The new moon occurs on June 6 at 2:38 p.m. Four days ago, the moon was at a distance of 368,102 kilometers from Earth, while on June 14, it reached its farthest point from Earth, at a distance of 404,076 kilometers. The full moon occurs on June 22 at 3:08 a.m. in the constellation Sagittarius. On the night of June 27 to 28, the waning crescent moon passes directly north of Saturn. In German, the full moon in June is called Brachmund, because farmers farm three fields. The farmers worked in two fields while the third field lay fallow. This was finally addressed in June. Among North American natives, the full moon was called the strawberry moon, and was based on the fruit harvest in June.

The Sun reaches the highest point in its annual orbit on June 20 at 10:51 p.m. The point of summer in the constellation Taurus borders Gemini and marks the beginning of Cancer, which is why it is also referred to as the Tropic of Cancer. After passing this point, the sun returns to the celestial equator. The summer solstice marks the beginning of astronomical summer with the longest day and shortest night of the year.

There is currently a lot of activity on the sun. Huge areas of spots can be observed, which are signs of huge storm areas. Solar physicists talk about an active sun that produces huge explosions that spew clouds of plasma into space. These clouds are composed of electrically charged particles, especially protons, alpha particles, and electrons.

When such plasma clouds hit the Earth, they interact with the Earth's magnetic field, creating massive geomagnetic storms. This not only causes northern lights, but also poses a danger to electronic components that can malfunction satellite navigation stations and converters, as has been recorded several times.