JUNE  2026

Winter Solstice this month

The mid-year Solstices for 2026 fall on the 21st of this month. In the Southern Hemisphere is will be Winter Solstice and in the north Summer Solstice. For southern mid-latitudes the sun will rise and set at its most northerly points on the horizon. The Sun's path across the sky will be the both the shortest and the lowest of the year. We will experience daylight of only 9.5hrs, and the sun's rays will be at their shallowest angle of the year providing the least energy per square metre.

Moon Phases

Third Quarter Monday 8th
New Moon Monday 15th
First Quarter Monday 22nd
Full Moon Tuesday 30th

Moon Distance

Monday 15th is lunar perigee (nearest to Earth) at 357,198 km.

Monday 15th is lunar apogee (furthest from Earth) at 406,366 km.

Planets

Mercury is not visible this month as is about to pass behind the Sun for its solar conjunction.

Venus as the 'evening star' can be seen from 5: 30am in the north west before setting by 7pm.

Mars, after its solar conjunction, is a pre-dawn object seen in the east from 4:50am before fading by 6:40am.

Jupiter has now passed its solar conjunction and is visible this month at dusk around 5:23pm in the north-east and will set by 8:00pm.

Saturn can be seen rising in the north-east from 2:20am and will fade in dawn's light.

Meteors

There are two minor meteor showers this month. The Arietid Meteor Shower (in the constellation of Aries) occurs through to June 24 but peaks on June 11th. From Melbourne the shower is likely best seen just before dawn. Although low in number (less than 10 per hour) they can often be spectacular and bright with many displaying a yellow/orange colour.

The Bootid Meteor Shower (in the constellation of Bootes) appears late in June and into early July. The best time to see meteors is after midnight with no moon in the night sky.

Stars and constellations

In the west

Although Orion has disappeared below the western horizon but his two dogs Canis Major with the star Sirius (low in the west) and Canis Minor with the star Procyon (low in the north-west) are still both in our skies.

In the north

Leo the lion is still visible in the north-west with the bright star Regulus. Look for a large hook of stars, or inverted question mark, to locate his curving mane and shoulders.

In the east

Scorpius is in the south-east this month with the red-giant star Antares as the middle of three stars that form the scorpion's body. During winter the centaur-archer Sagittarius suits below the scorpion with its bow and arrow (the famous 'Tea Pot' asterism).

In the south

High in the south-east is Crux or The Southern Cross with the Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri) lower down. In darker skies the two neighbouring galaxies, the Large and Small Clouds of Magellan, can be seen as small isolated patches in the south-west. From our southern latitude they are easily seen every night.

In dark locations the broad band of the Milky Way's billions of stars and numerous interstellar dust clouds stretches across the sky from horizon to horizon. While some foreground stars in our local region of the galaxy can be seen, the dark dust clouds obscure our view further into the galaxy since our eyes and optical telescopes 'see' in only the visible part of the spectrum.

On this day

1st 2002 The Czech Republic becomes the first country to ban light pollution.
2nd 1966 The Surveyor 1 (USA) lands on Moon as first probe to land on another body.
3rd 1965 Ed White takes America's first spacewalk as part of Gemini IV.
6th 1971 The Soyuz 11 (USSR) carries the first people to a space station (Salyut 1).
7th 1879 Joan Voute proves with parallax that dwarf star Proxima Centauri is the same distance as Alpha Centauri binary.
8th 2004 A Transit of Venus is observed, the first in 122 years.
9th 1986 The Rogers report on Space Shuttle Challenger explosion reveals solid rocket booster fault and serious management and safety problems with US program.
10th 2003 The launch of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (USA) which lands in 2004 and exceeds expectations operating to 2010.
13th 1983 The Pioneer 10 (USA) becomes the first spacecraft to travel beyond the planets of the Solar System.
13th 2010 Hyabusa (Japan) craft returns the first asteroid samples to Earth.
14th 1962 European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) begins, later to be part of European Space Agency (ESA).
15th 763 BCE Assyrians record a total solar eclipse which has helped in dating other events in Mesopotamian history.
16th 1911 A meteorite weighing 772g strikes a barn in rural Wisconsin (USA).
16th 1963 Valentina V. Tereshkova (USSR) is the first woman in space in Vostok 6, the first civilian into space, and the only woman to undertake a solo space flight.
17th 1969 The Venera 6 (USSR) descends into Venus' dense atmosphere sending data before being crushed by rising pressure.
18th 1983 Sally Ride is first American woman in space aboard Shuttle Challenger.
20th 1990 Asteroid Eureka found as part of the Trojans asteroid group orbiting at Mars' L5 Lagrange point.
21st 2004 The SpaceShipOne (USA) launched as first privately-funded human space flight.
21st 2006 Pluto's small moons Nyx and Hydra are named.
22nd 1633 Galileo recants his sun-centred solar system model under threat of torture by the Catholic Inquisition.
22nd 1978 Dr James W. Christy (USA) discovers Pluto's large moon Charon.
24th 1883 Discoverer of cosmic rays, Victor Francis Hess, is born.
24th 1915 The birth of Fred Hoyle, who explained the creation of elements in stars, promoted the steady state universe, and coined the pejorative term 'big bang' for the rival model of the universe's creation.
29th 1818 Angelo Secchi born, one of the first astronomers to believe the Sun is a star.
29th 1995 The Space Shuttle Atlantis (USA) – first docking at Russia's Mir Space Station.
30th 1908 A meteor several metres in size explodes over Tunguska (Russia) destroying 2,200 km2 of forest in a multi-megaton blast.
30th 1971 The Soyuz 11 (USSR) was the only mission to visit the first space station Salut 1 (USSR) after which its crew of three became the only humans known to have died in space when their cabin depressurised prior to re-entry.