Skynotes: June 2026

What Goes Up …

A recent research article has looked into the sun’s 11-year solar activity cycle which effects the number of sunspots, the strength of the solar wind of particles that stream into space, auroras on Earth, the dynamics of our atmosphere, and objects in orbit. A more active Sun will inject more energy into Earth’s upper atmosphere which in turn will expand causing more drag on satellites and space debris. The conclusion drawn was that this will affect the orbital decay and reentry of such objects, whether they be critical (and expensive) satellites or the vast number of pieces of space junk caused by human activity.

While that may not come as a surprise to the multi-billion-dollar space industry, at least to those who have being paying attention, the study adds rigour by comparing sun activity with orbital decay patterns. Over several sun cycles from 1986 to 2024, the authors saw a correlation between sunspots and the declining altitudes of a number of satellites.

This study of solar activity and its effect on our atmosphere adds valuable context to the European Space Agency’s 2025 report into the acceleration of space launches and the problem of an increasingly crowded Earth space environment and the rising risk of collision and orbital debris.

As the “Evolution in All Orbits” graph shows (with gross numbers at left and year range at bottom), orbiting objects of all sorts has steadily increased over the last 60 years, and especially dramatically in the last 15. The colours indicate the type of object: white for unidentified; orange, reds and yellow for rocket-related; and blues and grey for payload-related. ESA

The second graph (with numbers at left and future years at bottom) shows two scenarios; an unrealistic end to launches shown by the largely grey flat line, and an alarming red extrapolation from current trends with a significant increase into the future. With the planned launching of tens of thousands of communication satellites, notably by Space X and Amazon, the future seems worrying if not bleak. ESA

Learn more at:
Explore more: ScienceNews - Space junk falls back to Earth faster as sunspot numbers climb

PhysOrg – Study shows how sunspots activity speeds up reentries

BOM Solar Cycle and Orbital Space Debris

ESA Space Environment Report 2025

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.

NASA Solstice Animation

Museums Victoria Reasons for the Seasons

Melbourne Sun times 

*When the sun is at its highest, crossing the meridian or local longitude.  

Moon Phases

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.

Learn more at:
EarthSky Arietid Meteor Shower
In-The-Sky Bootid Meteor Shower

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.

International Space Station

ISS orbits every 90 minutes at an average distance of 400 km appearing like a bright star moving slowly across the night sky. Here are some of the brightest passes expected this month over Melbourne:

Morning

Monday 1st 6:39am-6:46am South-West to North-East

Tuesday 2nd 5:53am-5:58am South-South-West to East-North-East

Evening

Saturday 13th 6:35pm-6:39pm North-West to South-East

Monday 29th 6:42pm-6:45pm South-West to South-South-East

Heavens Above gives predictions for visible passes of space stations and major satellites, live sky views and 3D visualisations. Be sure first to enter your location under ‘Configuration’.

On this day