Hi, I'm Sonia,
I have been into astronomy since 1997 when I was 11 years old when comet Hale-Bopp was around. I remember being in the back garden with my dad and he was showing me how to take a photo of it with his old Fujica camera, that I still have now.
Ever since then I've been fascinated with space. I started with a very cheap Tasco telescope from Argos to look at the moon, went onto a Meade goto ETX-90 telescope, which unfortunately due to age stopped working.
I currently use a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian, to mostly photograph the moon and also the planets. I also have a Seestar S50 which got me into deep sky imaging which I love!
More recently I have also aquired a Seestar S30 and a Vespera II
lastly a Coronado PST for solar imaging.
I have two Bsc (Hons) open degrees in "Introducing Astronomy" and "The Planets"
Elected in 2023 I am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
Along with my blog for StarDome, I'm also a freelancer for the BBC Sky at Night magazine
and a "Go Stargazing" Astronomer
Clear Skies
Sonia
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June 2026
The June night sky, where late Spring, going into Summer is the start of lingering twilight, low-hanging planets and the return of noctilucent clouds. It’s a month of short, bright nights. Astronomical darkness starts to disappear, and the sun doesn’t sink more than 18 degrees below the horizon, so the sky never becomes fully black. Instead, we get a deep cobalt twilight that lasts all night, perfect for wide-field sky watching and atmospheric phenomena.
Lunar Highlights
New moon brings the darkest skies you’ll get this month – a deep twilight rather than true darkness.
First Quarter is excellent for lunar observing: the terminator reveals crisp craters and mountain shadows.
Full moon (strawberry moon) rises low and warm-coloured, often appearing oversized due to the horizon illusion.
Constellations of early Summer
Bootes is home to brilliant Arcturus, the warm, orange star that dominates the southern sky.
Corona Borealis is a delicate semicircle of stars just beside Bootes
Hercules with the famous Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) a superb binocular target even in twilight.
Lyra starts to rise earlier, bringing Vega one of the brightest stars of the Summer.
Cygnus known as the northern cross begins to climb, hinting the Milky Way season is to come.
Deep Sky Objects (twilight friendly)
Even without full darkness, some objects can still punch through
M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster) this is bright and compact and rewarding to look at through any telescope.
M57 (Ring Nebula) a tiny smoke ring in Lyra and with patience, even visible in small telescopes.
Planets:
Mercury is just above the Horizon during the first half of the month. You will find it to the lower right of Venus and Jupiter. Its greatest elongation will be on the 15th June. The Planet sets at around 11pm and starts to fade on the 16th June when the Crescent moon will be above Mercury.
Venus stays above the horizon until Midnight at a magnitude of -4.0. It starts to move upwards during the month and passes Jupiter on the 9th June by only 1.5 degrees. On the 17th June the crescent moon will appear near to Venus and above the star cluster Praesepe.
Mars will appear in the north east dawn sky at mid month at about 3am in the constellation of Taurus.
On the 29th June it passes below Pleiades.
Jupiter is still within the constellation of Gemini and will be in line with Castor and Pollux, setting around 11pm.
Saturn rises around 2am at a magnitude of +0.8 on the border of Pisces and Cetus,
Uranus is too close to the sun to Observe.
Neptune will appear to the right of Saturn in the constellation of Pisces and rises around 1:30am.
https://moonphases.co.uk/moon-calendar/2026/1/8
The June Solstice is the Astronomical moment when the Sun reaches its most northerly point in the sky, giving the Northern Hemisphere its longest day and shortest night. It’s not a whole day but a precise instant, the moment Earth’s North Pole is tilted Maximally towards the sun.
What happens at the June Solstice?
Earth’s axis is tilted 23.44 degrees and in June the Northern Hemisphere leans closest to the sun
The tilt makes the sun appear highest at solar noon, producing the shortest shadows of the year.
The suns path seems to “stand still” for a few days, the origin of the word solstice (sol = sun, sister = to stand still)
When does the Solstice occur?
The June Solstice usually falls on the 20th or the 21st
Example 2025, the solstice was on the 21st at 03:42 BST in the UK
2026, the solstice will be on the 21st June at 09:24 BST in the UK
The exact time shifts slightly each year because of Earth’s orbit being elliptical.
What does this mean?
London will receive about 16.5 hours of daylight on solstice day.
Northern Scotland can reach nearly 18 hours of daylight.
In Northern England astronomical darkness disappears and the night sky never becomes fully black.
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/summer-solstice
Noctilucent Cloud Season is upon us!
Noctilucent clouds (NLC’s) are bright shimmering, electric blue “night shining” clouds that appear low in the northern sky on Summer nights. They’re one of the most beautiful and otherworldly sights the season offers.
They are the highest clouds on Earth.
Noctilucent clouds form around 80-83km above the ground in the mesosphere, far higher than any normal weather cloud. They are made of tiny ice crystals that condense around dust particles, often from micrometeorites or volcanic debris.
Because they sit so high, they can still catch sunlight from below the horizon long after the ground is in shadow. That’s why they glow when the rest of the sky is dark.
In early summer the mesosphere becomes cold enough (around -130c) for ice crystals to form.
The sun never dips far below the horizon at UK latitudes, so it can under-light these high clouds.
The UK sits in the ideal 50-70oNorth latitude band where NLCs are most common.
What do they look like?
They appear as a silvery or electric blue ripples in the sky
Bright against the twilight sky, unlike normal clouds which look dark.
Photo Sonia Turkington, DJI Mini 3 Drone, June 2024
When and where to look
Look in the direction of North, that is where the sun sits just below the horizon.
Time
1-2 hours after sunset
1-2 hours before sunrise
Around midnight often gives the best displays, but they can be seen before this time though!
Clear skies and a low northern horizon.
They can appear suddenly and are unpredictable. There is no forecast for them. The only reliable method to see them is to simply look!
June looks to be a busy month!
Happy stargazing, NLC hunting and clear skies!
Sonia x
