What’s Up in the Night Sky? Planets Galore! June 2022

Fred Barrett | Jun 01, 2022

The appearance of all seven planets in the eastern morning sky later this month before sunrise, will present to us a pretty rare view of all the main bodies of our solar system. On the 24th, they will all be lined up along the ecliptic with a crescent Moon near the middle. Grab your binoculars or better yet, a small telescope. The telescope will provide you that extra power to view the rings of Saturn and the bands of Jupiter. The best viewing starts about mid month when Saturn rises above the eastern horizon after midnight. Get out early, as many mornings as you can, and watch for each planet as it slips up above the border of Earth and sky. Use succeeding late nights/early mornings to get use to the timing and how they present themselves above the horizon. In order of appearance, they are Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, Venus and Mercury and they will all be along the line of the ecliptic. You will definitely need good eyes and binoculars to find Neptune and Uranus. Mercury will be a challenge too. By the 24th, all 7 will be above the horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise.

Summer Solstice occurs at 5:14 am on the 21st and it marks the shortest night of the year. It’s all longer nights after that; which is good or bad depending on how much you like winter. But before then, we can enjoy some of the best constellations and Deep Sky Objects of the year. The Milky Way is swinging in from the east and next month we’ll do a tour of its wonders.

I managed a few pictures of last month’s total Lunar Eclipse. Conditions weren’t the greatest here but it still made the grade as the best Lunar eclipse I’ve ever seen.

June 1: The Moon is at apogee – 403,833 Kms. June 7: First quarter Moon. June 14: Full Moon. This is called the Trees Fully Leaved Full Moon. It’s also named the Berries Ripen Full Moon. I call it the Strawberry Pies will be Ready Soon Full Moon. The Moon is at perigee – 355,357 Kms. June 20: Last quarter Moon. June 21: Summer Solstice occurs at 5:14 am EDT. It is also National Indigenous Peoples Day. June 24: All seven planets and a crescent Moon are in a line along the ecliptic 45 minutes before sunrise. June 26: The Moon passes 3 degrees above Venus at 4 am EDT. June 27: The Moon passes 4 degrees above Mercury at 4 am EDT. June 28: New Moon. June 29: The Moon is at apogee – 404,293 Kms. It is at its furthest distance from Earth this year.

Enjoy the planets this month and keep looking up! Follow the links below for information and upcoming events at the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve:

www.northfrontenac.com/en/open-for-business/dark-sky-preserve.aspx#

www.visitfrontenac.ca/en/explore-and-do/dark-sky-preserve.aspx

Useful books, star charts and related items for beginners and through to advanced amateurs can be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews” can be arranged at the RASC website.

Let me know what you’re finding in the sky, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the emails and the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies!