June 2025 - On & Off Earth
After an April somewhat lacking in showers, the plentiful rains of May have replenished stores of ground water and removed us from the drought map. May’s coolish temperatures have made for a lovely spring but delayed the coming reality; June means summer. The six month long Hurricane Season and meteorological summer begin on the 1st. On the 20th, the Summer Solstice starts astronomical summer.
After risIng due east and setting due west back on the spring equinox, the sun has been rising to the north of east and setting north of west for the last three months. That northward movement stops at 10:42pm on June 20th as the sun ‘stands still’; the Summer Solstice. That day also marks the closest to overhead the sun gets here at latitude 38°N. The sun will be directly overhead at 23 1/2°N along the Tropic of Cancer and kick off summer. Serious sun protection is required!
Walking the woods, leaves providing the sun protection, my June focus is somewhat copperhead-centric. Walking in the woods without a dog, my life for the last six plus months, is very different than walking with a dog. I have to pay attention to everything now. Not only is a dog great entertainment, romping leash-free in the woods, their senses fill in the gaps that our vision heavy awareness miss. I’m working on improving and extending what I take in as delights and perils abound.
One of the delights is a walk in the woods as a rain shower begins. Often pushing the weather envelope, I have learned all those leaves provide a free umbrella service. It turns out that leaves, billions of them, slow and collect the billions of rain drops, delaying their fall. Caught without a raincoat, I do head back toward the house as a shower begins but have, after numerous experiments, discovered I can enjoy the sound of the falling drops on the leaves while remaining mostly dry. WARNING: Don’t try this in a downpour, especially with nearby thunder/lightning.
Living in the woods, amidst ever growing trees, my view of the summer night sky is very limited. For those with better views of the sky, June’s fifteen hours of daylight, still puts a cap on everyone’s star gazing. With a view of the southwest, you can catch the waxing crescent moon below and right of Mars on May 31st and very close to Regulus, the heart of Leo, the next night, June 1st. The red-orange planet will sidle up to the blue-white star at dusk on the 16th.
Nearing Full, the moon will be near reddish Antares, the heart star of Scorpio, on the 9th. The next evening, the Full Strawberry Moon, will follow the constellation low across the southern sky. June’s Full moon is always in or near Scorpio. The Moon and planets may wander around in our sky (planet is from the Greek for wanderer) but the constellations are, over our lifetimes, in the same place in the sky, on the same day, every year.
Sky changes do occur over the millennia, the sun’s journey through the signs of the zodiac is now a month off from when first created. That reality moves our star from Taurus into Gemini on June 21st. Early risers can catch the waning crescent moon, low in the southeast, near Saturn on the 19th and left of bright Venus on the 22nd.
June: sunglasses, SPF 40 and bug spray; pool, lake, river or beach lounging; vacations or staycations; music festivals and summer fairs! The options we have here in Virginia boggles the mind. Get out there, it’s June and summer is here!
Sun could be flaring...Today On Earth
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