📝 Steven Burr
The Moon
The month starts off with the first quarter moon on the 3rd of June followed by the Full Strawberry Moon on the 11th. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name originates from the gathering of strawberries during the month. Other names include: Berries Ripen Moon (Haida), Blooming Moon (Anishinaabe), and Hatching Moon (Cree). On the 18th, we have the last quarter moon and on the 23rd, a waning crescent moon passing close to the star cluster Pleiades just before sunrise. This is a lovely sight to see, especially with binoculars.
The Planets
Venus remains visible low near the eastern horizon just before sunrise. On the 1st of the month, Venus reaches its greatest western elongation from the Sun and continues to distance itself from Earth. Mars is still visible in the evening hours just after sunset in the constellation of Leo. On the evenings of the 16th & 17th, Mars will pass within 1° of Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo. Note the contrast in colours between these two objects. On the 29th of June, an occultation of Mars and the moon will occur around 8 pm local time in the western sky. Jupiter is now becoming lost in twilight’s glow as it nears the sun from our viewpoint. Saturn, visible in the morning sky, is rising higher as the month progresses. On the 19th of the month, Saturn passes within 3° south of the moon in the early morning hours.
Summer Solstice
The summer solstice arrives at 10:42 pm EDT on June 20th for the Quinte area. The word solstice originates from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). In other words, it is the time the sun appears to standstill at its most northerly or southerly point relative to the land based observer. In Mesopotamia, the summer solstice was the time of death. The sun was at its highest and strongest resulting in drought and plague, making it appear that nature itself had become barren. It was believed that the veil between life and death was at its thinnest. Festivals commemorated their ancestors who were invited back to feast at their descendants’ homes. Rituals included lighting torches and braziers (open pan for cooking, heating or rituals) to guide the departed ancestors back from the underworld.
Constellation Leo
Leo Major and Leo Minor, Urania's Mirror 1825
Latin for lion, Leo is easily recognized with its backward question mark shaped head and triangular shaped hind. According to Greek mythology, Zeus placed the lion in the sky because it was the King of beasts. However, this constellation is older than the Greeks, owing its origins to the Babylonians. They attributed the following to the Lion: Killer of man and livestock, and thus symbolizes destruction and carnage of war, the lion represents the king & royalty, and seasonally, the power of the sun at its summer peak, resulting in death and drought. The brightest star in the constellation is Regulus, Latin for prince or king. It is actually a quadruple star system, even though it appears as one to us. Within Leo, we have the deep sky object the Leo Triplet, a group of interacting spiral galaxies.
Leo Triplet, Clayton Patterson
Don't miss the South Shore Fest event on June 7th! Click here to RSVP for all events including the laser guided Night Sky Tour.
References (June/July 2025 blog):
Boeckmann, Catherine, Full Moon Names 2025 [online]. Almanac, updated January 2025 [cited 3 January 2025]. Available from: https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-names
Edgar, James S. ed., RASC Observer’s Handbook 2025, ed. by James S. Edgar (Marquis Book Printing, 2024)
Hard, Robin, Eratosthenes & Hyginus: Constellation Myths (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)
Mortillaro, Nicole, RASC 2025 Night Sky Almanac (Richmond Hill: Firefly Books, 2024)
Solstices & Equinoxes for Belleville [online], Timeanddate, [cited 5 January 2025]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html?n=1168
White, Gavin, Babylonian Star-Lore: An Illustrated Guide to the Star-Lore & Constellations of Ancient Babylonia (London: Solaria Publications, 2014)
Do you like this page?
