The highlight of the month, indeed the whole year, has got to be the transit of Venus, an event which last occurred in 1882 and which will not happen again until 2012. On the 8th of June Venus will transit in front of the face of the Sun.

Transit of Venus

Whilst we are used to seeing Venus as a very bright light in out night sky. This will be an opportunity to view the dark side of the planet as it passes the Sun.

Of course, viewing the Sun directly is a sure way to permanently damage your eyesight. But the Bristol Astronomical Society will be on hand in St Peter's Square, Castle Park, Bristol to help with a public viewing event.

Planets

Although Venus will be making all the headlines this month, Jupiter will remain fairly bright in the southwestern sky throughout the month. At the beginning of June Jupiter will lie very close to the constellation Leo. The head and shoulders of Leo is made up of a group of stars known as the Sickle. Mercury is a late riser which should still be visible, appearing after about 0430.

The Summer Triangle, made up of the stars Deneb, Altair and Vega is prominent in the June sky, appearing high in the eastern sky towards midnight. Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, is the fifth brightest star in the sky. It is sometimes known as the Harp Star because it lies within the constellation Lyra, the Harp.

The Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

The summer solstice, which marks the point at which the Sun reaches its most northerly point with respect to the celestial equator, is on the 21st at 0156, and the crowds of sun worshippers are sure to be out in force to greet the dawn on that morning.

There is a full moon on the 3rd of the month and the next new moon is on the 17th.

Lyrid Meteor Shower

The Lyrid meteor shower becomes active between the 10th and 21st of the month, so on a fine summer evening there is a fair chance of seeing an occasional 'shooting star'. The Lyrids are expected to reach their peak around the 14th, with hourly rates reaching a maximum of around eight.

The International Space Station continues to make regular sweeps above our night sky. Its current two-man crew is expected to make a spacewalk around the middle of the month in an attempt to repair one of the gyroscopes which are used to steer and maintain the craft in its orbit.

Richard Angwin
Points West Weatherman