Jun 1 2012 By Ninian Boyle

You need to stay up late to get dark skies this month and they are short lived, but don't let that stop you from going out and having a look around at the wonders of the heavens.

So the planet Venus is going to transit the face of the Sun. So what? Well to astronomers the world over this is a big event. It happens once every 105.5 or 121.5 years and then has a gap of 8 years. Why it happens like this is a little complex, but suffice it to say, because of its rarity, it is an interesting event.

We are now in the season of Noctilucent Clouds. The best time to try and see these, if there are any to see that is, will be about an hour after sunset or before sunrise. You'll need clear skies and look towards the northern horizon. They have a distinctive look, having an almost 'electric blue' colour to them and they often occur in herring bone patterns. Check out my blog for more information on these and what you can expect to see.

We have two planets left to view in the evening skies, that of Mars and Saturn. We are moving away quite rapidly from Mars now and it can be disappointing through a telescope due to it showing a very small disc. However, with patient observing through a telescope, it may still show a few dark markings and a polar cap.

The Sun is very active now and is heading towards 'Solar Max' in 2013. You need to take great care if you plan to observe our nearest star and this includes if you plan to see the Transit of Venus across its face. Sunspot counts are rising and if you have access to a hydrogen-alpha solar telescope you will be able to see lots of activity including prominences and filaments.

The constellations and asterisms of Summer are now coming well into view, including the 'Summer Triangle', the 'Keystone' asterism in the constellation of Hercules and the 'Northern Cross' of Cygnus the Swan. Asterisms are a great way of navigating your way around the sky. If you would like to know more about this, then I'll be describing how you can find out how you can use them, next month.

The Moon This Month

We see a Full Moon on the 4th. The Full Moon in June is otherwise known as the Rose Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon or the Honey Moon. Whatever you may like to call it, it certainly looks impressive. The Full Moon though, is not the best time to go exploring our nearest neighbour in space with a telescope or binoculars, as there is little shadow to make the features such as craters, stand out.

The Planets This Month

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Astronomy: June astronomy highlights