Look to the heavens

TOP astronomical events to look forward to in June 2020 – including a glimpse of Mercury and two eclipses.

Stargazers are in for a chance to see two different types of eclipse, as Charlotte Smith reports

From the stunning Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower to an out-ofthis-world view of Comet Atlas, May was an epic month for showstopping celestial events.

Luckily for those who may have missed seeing any, June also has a stellar line-up of dazzling astronomical displays to look forward to.

Best of all, most will be easy to spot in the sky without needing to buy any high-tech camera or telescopes.

The moon will be fully illuminated as it appears on the opposite side of Earth as the sun, resulting in a full moon.

In early native American tribes, this particular full moon was often called Strawberry Moon because this time of year would often be when tribes would start to gather up ripened fruits.

For your best chance of seeing it, wait until it’s fully dark outside, and if you can, head to an area with little light pollution.

Besides the Full Strawberry Moon, there will also be a penumbral lunar eclipse.

During this type of eclipse the moon will darken slightly.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s partial shadow, or penumbra.

This is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

On this day, the North Pole will be tilted toward the sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky.

It will also be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude.

During a new moon, the moon and sun have the same elliptical longitude, meaning the lunar disk is not visible from Earth.

This month, the phase will occur at 06.43.

As there is no moonlight interference, this is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters.

An annular solar eclipse takes place when the moon is so far away from Earth that it completely covers the sun.

As a result, a ring of light appears around the darkened moon, and the sun’s corona is not visible during an annular eclipse.