A Solstice Stargazing Guide for Summer 2020

Yesterday was the June solstice, which officially kicked off astronomical summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, the days are at their longest and the nights at their shortest right now, which sounds like bad news if you’re trying to squeeze in some stargazing. But stick with me, because this is actually shaping up to be one of the better stretches of sky-watching we’ve had in a while, and the short nights barely put a dent in it.

The headline act is Comet NEOWISE, which has been brightening as it swings through the inner solar system. Comets are notoriously unpredictable — plenty have fizzled out right when they were supposed to put on a show — but this one has been holding up well so far, and it’s becoming an easier target for casual observers, not just people with serious telescope rigs. If it keeps behaving, we could be looking at a naked-eye or binocular comet in the coming weeks, which doesn’t happen every year.

The planets are showing up too

While the comet is the wildcard, Jupiter and Saturn are the reliable headliners this summer. Both are approaching opposition in July, meaning Earth is going to pass between them and the Sun, putting each planet directly opposite the Sun in our sky. Practically speaking, that means they rise around sunset, stay up all night, and reach their biggest and brightest for the year right around that time.

You don’t need anything fancy to appreciate this. Jupiter is bright enough to pick out with the naked eye pretty easily, and even a modest pair of binoculars will show you its four largest moons as tiny points of light strung out in a line. Saturn takes a bit more optical help to reveal the rings, but even a small backyard telescope will do it, and there’s something almost unreal about seeing those rings in person for the first time.

Making the most of the short nights

Since real darkness doesn’t arrive until relatively late this time of year, patience is the name of the game. Give it a little while after sunset for the sky to fully darken and for your eyes to adjust — resist the urge to check your phone, since the screen brightness will reset your night vision. Jupiter and Saturn will be climbing in the southeastern sky after dusk, so that’s the direction to face if you’re scanning for them.

For the comet, timing and location matter more. It’s still relatively close to the Sun in the sky, so the window to spot it tends to be either just after sunset or just before sunrise, low toward the horizon. A clear view without buildings or trees blocking that direction will help a lot, and getting away from city lights, even just to a dark parking lot outside town, makes a real difference.

None of this requires expensive gear or expert knowledge. A pair of binoculars, a clear night, and a little patience will get you most of the way there. Given how much of this year has kept people close to home, a night spent looking up rather than at a screen feels like a pretty good use of a summer evening.