When does summer really start? Here's what the stars are saying

The solstice, informs the Unione Astrofili Italiani (Uai), which marks the end of spring and the arrival of summer, this year falls on 21 June, precisely at 04.42 a.m. To greet it there will be no Jupiter, which is unobservable at this time, but in the evening Mercury returns, which, moving away from conjunction with the Sun, will become increasingly visible in the second half of the month. The best visibility in the evening sky is expected on 24 June, when the planet sets one hour and 36 minutes after the Sun. There will therefore be a good window of opportunity to observe it after sunset, in the light of the evening twilight, on the western horizon, observes the Uai.

Mars is still observable in the early hours of the night and will gradually approach the star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Already on the evening of 1 June, a suggestive alignment between the Moon, Mars and Regulus is visible, and the spectacle will be repeated on 29 June.

Among the other planets in the June sky is Venus, which increasingly anticipates its rising: at the beginning of the month about two hours before the Sun and at the end of the month more than two and a half hours earlier.

Early in the morning Saturn is clearly visible, easily spotted in the constellation Pisces, in the eastern sky, before dawn.

Many stars and constellations accompany the summer sky: in the late evening, the constellation Scorpio can be seen on the horizon to the south-east, where the star Antares shines. Above Scorpio is visible Ophiuchus, known as the thirteenth zodiac constellation.