The summer solstice has signalled a slow end to longer days and late sunsets. Night time still arrives late in July however, with dusk not ending until well after 9pm.

The sun will be setting furthest from west as the earth rotates on its tilted axis, creating the solstice points.

Come September 21, the autumn equinox will bring day and night once again to equal terms as the sun will rise exactly from the east and set exactly in the west.

The June solstice marks a change of seasons – the astronomical beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south. Those living north of the Arctic Circle are able to see the ‘midnight sun’, where the sun remains visible throughout the night.

On the other hand, those south of the Antarctic Circle will not see the sun during this time of the year.

Those at the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer will see the sun directly overhead at noon – a curious phenomenon where no shadows are cast.

At night, however, this month we will see Jupiter leaving the evening sky as it passes ‘behind’ the sun as seen from the Earth. In fact, during early July it is only visible low on the horizon in the west, soon after sunset.

The so-called ‘Summer Triangle’ will, however, be conspicuous – look for a large triangle made up of three bright stars, Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila.

Mars also continues to fade this month, even though it outshines the nearby star Spica in Virgo. But Saturn remains visible nearby in Libra.

Early risers are in for a treat as the brilliant morning star Venus will be visible during the last week of July close to the thin crescent moon, low along the east-northeastern horizon just as morning twilight begins.

This coincides nicely with the 45th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing by the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

A total of six lunar missions took 12 people to the moon, and by 1972 it was all over. Since then, no person has been either on the moon or in lunar orbit.

Post your images of the night sky on the Astronomical Society’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/maltastro.

Alexei Pace is president of the Astronomical Society of Malta.