June 2020 night sky update – Solar Eclipse, comet swan, panstarrs, and more

In this night sky update, I’ll inform you about near earth objects, the annular solar eclipse on the 21st of june, the positions of the planets and popular deep sky objects you can image during the month of June. Also, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your pictures with me on instagram using the #NSASFO! I hope you’ll keep on sharing your pictures using this hashtag so we can build a community of amateur astrophotographers together and find and enjoy our work together!

Positions of near earth objects (comets, asteroids)

Comet Swan C/2020 F8 has arrived in northern hemisphere. It will be visible during the first and second week of June. This comet has been trending on google for quite a while, with beautiful pictures that were taken by astrophotographers from the southern hemisphere. For us “northies” it will be a bit more difficult to capture this comet. First of all, the observed magnitude is getting higher, from 6.2 late may to 7 early June. This means that you can only catch it with binoculars or a telescope. Also, comet Swan will appear low in the night sky in the constellation Auriga, moving from northwest in the evening sky to north/northeast during the night. However, If you have clear views towards the north close to the horizon and access to some bino’s or a telescope, definitely give this comet a try. You will not be disappointed!

Comet PANSTARRS C/2017 T2 still going strong at an observed magnitude of 8.8, so it is only visible when using a telescope. This comet will be in the constellation ursa major in the month of June. Aim your telescope towards the big dipper, which will be in the northwestern sky after sunset. Comet PANSTARRS will move closer to the horizon during the night.

Solar Annular eclipse 21st of June

On the 21st of June, some nations in Africa, the middle east and Asia will be treated to a spectacular solar annular eclipse. A solar eclipse happens when the moon will move exactly between the sun and the earth. Annular means that the sun will be almost, but not completely covered by the moon. The moon is just a little bit too far away from earth, so we will be able to observe the awesome ring of fire. See the above video for an animation of what to expect.

Of course, the moon is too small to block sunlight to all of earth, so you will need to live close to what is called the path of totality, where you can observe this lunar eclipse. This time, the lunar eclipse is visible from parts of Africa including the Central African Republic, Congo, and Ethiopia very early in the morning from about 6am to 8am. Then, it will move to the middle east and will be visible in Jemen, the south of Saudi Arabia and Oman from 8:00 to 9:30. Then the south of Pakistan and northern India are next from about 10 am to noon. It will then move towards the autonomous region of Tibet at 15:00 and finally it will be visible across China and Taiwan in the afternoon from 16:00 to 18:00. If you are that lucky person living in one of these countries, be sure to use certified solar eclipse glasses to enjoy this event to the fullest without risks.

Positions of the planets:

Mercury will be visible until half june, look towards the west/northwest low above the horizon in the evening sky. Venus will be visible again in the second half of june, but now as a “the morning star” towards the northeastern skies just before sunrise. Jupiter and Saturn will rise at midnight and will be visible during the whole night towards the south. Note that if you are living in the southern hemisphere, you’ll have to look towards the north instead of the south to the beautiful planets in our solar system. If you are planning on capturing Jupiter, the 13th of June during the night would be a good time. All of the four biggest moons (Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede) will be visible west (to the right) of the planet. Mars will be visible after 2:30 am and will rise in the southeastern sky until sunrise in the month of June. Finally, on the 9th of june, the waning moon is close to Saturn and Jupiter in the night sky and on the 13th of June, the waning moon is in close proximity to mars.

Deep Sky Objects:

Southern hemisphere

I’ll do my best but keep in mind I’m a “northy”. If you are from the southern hemisphere and want to help me, let me know in the comment section! In the southern hemisphere, nights are long and days are short at the moment. Well, I’m jealous already! The small and large Magellanic cloud are moving closer towards the horizon in the southern evening sky, but during the night they will rise again towards the south southeast.

When looking at objects in our own milky way, some nice options will be the lagoon nebula (M8), the eagle nebula (M16), the trifid nebula (M20) and the Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24). Each of these objects are located in a specific part of the milky way that will rise in the northeast and travel towards the northwest during the night from a southern hemisphere perspective.

Northern hemisphere

For the northern hemisphere, the same DSO’s such as the lagoon nebula (M8), eagle nebula (M16), the trifid nebula (M20) and the Sagittarius Star Could (M24) are also visible, but they will move in the normal direction rising in the southeast and travelling towards the south southwest during the night.

When we look toward the Zenith in the northern hemisphere than you’ll notice that the constellation Cygnus is moving from the east towards the south during the night. This provides you with a perfect opportunity to image some flagship nebulae such as the north america (NGC 7000), the pelican nebula (IC5070) and the eastern (NGC6992) and western veil nebula (NGC6960) which are both part of what is called the Cygnus loop, a supernove remnant of a star that exploded over 7000 years ago. Other famous DSO’s that are a bit east of Cygnus will also be great targets to image, such as the the elephant’s trunk nebula (IC1396) and the wizard nebula (NGC7380).

Milky way time!

Last but not least, for both hemispheres, the milkyway is nicely positioned in the night sky for some awesome widefield astrophotography pictures. For the northern hemisphere, the most beautiful part of the milkyway would be the part rising in the southeast moving towards the south/southwest during the night. For the southern hemisphere, that same part of the milky way is also visible, but it will rise in the northeastern sky and move towards the north/northwest during the night. If you have access to some dark skies, just put that DSLR on your tripod or tracker, time to take some beautiful pictures!

#NSASFO

As already stated in the beginning of this blog, thank you so much for sharing your astrophotography pictures with me on instagram using #NSASFO! I’ve received over 50 pictures in the first month on the #NSASFO so thank you from the bottom of my hart! Its’ really amazing to see that you already responded to my first attempt to build our very own community of amateur astrophotographers. In the video above, I’ll discuss some of your awesome pictures you’ve sent in May 2020, and I’ve made a separate video of those pictures to show my appreciation (see below). I hope you like these efforts from my side and I hope that you’ll keep on sharing your astrophotography pictures with my on instagram. I’ll continue these monthly updates and share your pictures on my YouTube channel. Clear skies!