Namibia is heading towards the winter solstice in June. The 21st of June is considered the shortest day of the year. More precisely: the day with the shortest period of time between sunrise and sunset.
That's not entirely true, by the way. From 14 June, the sun only shines for 10 hours and 45 minutes. And it is only from 30 June that the days become longer again, minute by minute.
Nevertheless, 21 June is the day on which the sun reaches the northernmost line on which it is at its zenith at midday. This is the Tropic of Cancer. In the northern hemisphere, this is the summer solstice.
Several constellations can be seen in the evening sky, including Scorpius in the south-east. The Big Dipper is very low in the north. And unlike in the northern hemisphere, it appears upside down.
You will also find the two brightest stars and the eighth brightest star in our starry sky. These are Sirius in Canus major in the west and Canopus in the constellation Carina in the south-west, as well as Procyon in Canus minor in the north-west.
The planets tend to make themselves scarce in June. Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus, which is only visible with a telescope anyway, practically rise and set with the sun (see TimeAndDate.com; all times refer to 15 June for the city of Windhoek).
Only Mars is visible in the evening sky. It sets at around 11.00 pm. Saturn appears in the east around 1.20 am, followed by Neptune (not visible to the naked eye) and Venus, currently in its role as the ‘morning star’.
Sunrise on 1 June is around 7.24 am, sunset around 6.14 pm. On 30 June, the sun rises at around 7.32 am and sets at around 6.18 pm.
The phases of the moon in June: last quarter 3 June, new moon 11 June, first quarter 18 June, full moon 25 June. The moonlight is therefore the least disturbing when observing the stars and planets at the beginning to middle of June.
You can also find out more about the Namibian starry sky in June in the Astro News by Lutz von Dewitz in the news section on the website of the Namibia Scientific Society.
Sven-Eric Stender