Abrams Planetarium
SKYWATCHER'S DIARY: June 1996
To the reader
The Skywatcher's Diary for June 1996 has been prepared by Robert C.
Victor. Sometimes you can see next month's in advance
by looking in our archives. Credit to
Abrams Planetarium,
Department of Physics and Astronomy at
Michigan State University, together with mention of our Sky Calendar, would be appreciated.
A sample Sky Calendar for May 1996 is available over the Internet.
It can be viewed via a World-Wide Web browser such at Netscape
or Mosiac, directly at URL:
http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/may96skycal.html
If you would like a printed sample, send a long, self-addressed
stamped envelope to:
June Sky Calendar
Abrams Planetarium
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Each month, the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan
State University also makes Skywatcher's Diary available over the
Internet. It can be accessed via a World-Wide Web browser such as
Netscape or Mosiac, directly at URL:
http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/diary.html
The Skywatcher's Diary is also available via anonymous ftp at:
www.pa.msu.edu in the directory /pub/swd
ftp://www.pa.msu.edu/pub/swd/
Lunar and Planetary Highlights for June
Venus in early June concludes its reign as evening star. On June 1
Venus is 13 degrees to upper left of setting Sun and follows Sun
below horizon by just over an hour. On what date will you first see
Venus as a morning star? Venus' rising in ENE precedes sunrise by
half an hour on June 17, by 1-1/2 hours on June 30, and by over 3
hours on July 31. Venus' elongation, or angular distance to upper
right of the rising Sun, widens from less than 11 degrees on June
17, to 27 degrees on June 30, and to 44 degrees on July 31. Look
for Venus mornings about 3/4 hour before sunup and watch it get
higher until early September.
Since Venus swings so close to Earth early in June, its backlighted
disk shows an unusually large crescent, still 0.8' (arcminute) across
on July 1. That's big enough to discern its shape with 7-power
binoculars, provided you observe Venus in a bright sky, around
sunrise or even in daylight. By early July, once Venus has pulled far
enough away from the Sun, it's easy to see it in the daytime -- just
keep track of it until sunrise! The sunlit fraction of Venus' disk
grows from 4% on June 21 to nearly 12% on June 30, and to 38%
by the end of July.
The Moon helps locate bright Jupiter on the nights of June 3 and 30.
Between those dates, Jupiter's rising in SE shifts earlier, from 2-1/4
hours after sunset on June 3, to just a few minutes after on June 30.
The Full Moon of June 30 is the second this month, an event not
happening again until Jan. '99. A fat waning crescent Moon leads
the eye toward Saturn in ESE predawn skies on June 9 and 10.
Saturn's rings are then tipped 5.8 degrees from edge-on. Mercury
passes 1.6 degrees upper left of emerging Venus on June 23.
-
- At sunset tonight, as soon as Sun's disk has sunk below horizon,
locate Venus 13 degrees upper left of Sun and use binoculars to
resolve the planet as a thin crescent, less than 3 percent illuminated.
By half an hour after sunset, Venus is easy for naked eye even
though it's just 5 degrees up in WNW. By an hour after sunset
Venus has nearly set. The Strawberry, Rose, or Flower Moon --
first of two Full Moons this month -- is then low in SE with
Antares, heart of Scorpius, 10 degrees to its lower right.
Here's where to look for other planets during this first night of
June. Three hours after sunset, look for bright Jupiter very low in
SE, 30 degrees to Moon's lower left. For rest of night Jupiter
follows Moon across sky. An hour before sunup on Sunday, Moon
is low in SW and Jupiter is in SSW, to Moon's upper left. Saturn
shines as a lonely first-magnitude "star" in ESE. In the next 15-20
minutes, use binoculars to scan ENE horizon for the rising of two
more planets: First Mars, then Mercury 4 degrees to its lower right.
This pair wll be easiest to see from southern states, and lost in bright
twilight from N states.
-
- At sunset, as soon as the Sun's disk has slipped below the horizon,
use binoculars to search for the very thin 2 percent crescent Venus
within 12 degrees upper left of Sun. Do not look at the Sun through
binoculars!
By an hour after sunset, Venus is gone and the Moon is rising in
ESE. Wait another two hours, and you'll see bright Jupiter 15
degrees to Moon's lower left.
-
- Three hours after sunset, the waning gibbous Moon is very low in
ESE to SE, with Jupiter just 4 degrees to its lower right. Moon and
Jupiter keep company for the rest of the night, remaining 4 or 5
degrees apart until dawn on Tuesday, when they're in SSW.
-
- Three hours after sunset, Moon has just risen in ESE.Bright Jupiter
is 16 degrees to Moon's upper right.
-
- Moments after the Sun has set below the horizon, use binoculars to
look for the crescent Venus just 7 degrees to Sun's upper left.
Tonight Venus' crescent is less than 1 percent illuminated. Do *not*
look at the Sun itself through binoculars. Tonight might be your last
evening to see Venus until April or May 1997. Venus now sets only
half an hour after Sun.
-
- A few leftover winter stars can still be seen in W to NW at dusk.
Within an hour after sunset, find Pollux and Castor, the Gemini
Twins, 4-1/2 degrees apart in WNW. Pollux is the brighter, on the
left. Can you still see Procyon nearly due west just a few degrees
above the horizon? Also, look for Capella in NW, 30 degrees lower
right of Castor.
-
- On Saturday an hour before sunrise, the Last Quarter Moon is in SE;
Saturn is within 20 degrees to its lower left. Face the Moon at
sunrise, and you'll notice its left half is illuminated while the Sun is
rising to your left. Sun and Moon are 90 degrees or one-quarter
circle apart. Try to follow the Moon until midday.
-
- On Sunday an hour before sunup face ESE to see the fat waning
crescent Moon with Saturn about 6 degrees lower left. If you have
an unobstructed view toward ENE horizon, aim binoculars there and
try for the Pleiades star cluster with Mars 5 degrees to its lower
right. Another 4 degrees lower right of Mars, watch for the rising of
the planet Mercury.
-
- An hour before sunup Monday look for Saturn in ESE, 8 degrees to
Moon's upper right. Mercury is just rising in ENE, 4 degrees to
Mars' lower right. The Mercury-Mars duo is higher and easier from
S states. Although Mercury is 24 degrees from Sun, its farthest for
this apparition, it remains very low in the bright glow of twilight.
Use binoculars.
-
- At intervals of just over 19 months, Venus, orbiting on an "inside
track", passes nearly between Earth and Sun and overtakes our
slower planet. Such an event, which happens today, is called an
inferior conjunction of Venus. That means Venus appears in
conjunction with, or close to the Sun in our sky today, while it's
actually some 67 million miles closer to us. In the weeks around
inferior conjunction, Venus changes from an evening to a morning
"star." After today, the next inferior conjunction of Venus occurs on
January 16, 1998. Midway between now and then, on April 2,
1997, Venus will pass superior conjunction, beyond the Sun, and
soon thereafter will emerge as an evening "star."
-
- Here are instructions for getting an early look at what may become
next year's bright comet. Using binoculars 2-1/2 hours before
sunrise on Wednesday, "star hop" from bright Jupiter in the south to
Comet Hale-Bopp. Nearly 1.7 degrees above and slightly left of
Jupiter is the 3rd-magnitude star Pi Sagittarii, the brightest and
leftmost star in the bowl of the "Teaspoon." In the handle 4.2
degrees to Pi's upper left is the 4th-mag. star Rho-1. Just 1.9
degrees above Rho-1 is 4.6-mag. Upsilon. Finally, 2.4 degrees
upper right of Upsilon in the "One O'Clock" direction is Comet
Hale-Bopp, appearing as a hazy patch of light of about 7th-
magnitude. Hale-Bopp appears 9.2 degrees NNE of Jupiter
Wednesday. Moving 0.3 degrees WNW per day in June, the comet
on June 27 will pass 10.5 degrees due north of Jupiter, directly
above the planet when it passes due south that morning.
An hour before sunup on Wednesday, Jupiter is in SSW, Saturn in
ESE, and a pretty crescent Moon is low, a little N of due east. Using
binoculars, check the ENE horizon about 20 degrees to Moon's
lower left. Watch for Mercury rising 3.6 degrees to Mars' lower
right, and the Pleiades cluster 4 degrees to Mars' upper left.
-
- An hour before sunup on Thursday, from a place with an
unobstructed view, locate the last easy old crescent Moon very low
in ENE. With horns pointing south, the crescent is tipped like a
bowl nearly on its side. Using binoculars find Mars 8 or 9 degrees
to Moon's left, and the Pleiades cluster about 4 degrees to Mars'
upper left. Watch for the rising of Mercury some 6 or 7 degrees to
Moon's lower left and 3.4 degrees lower right of Mars.
-
- If the air is very transparent near the horizon 1-1/2 hours before
sunup on Thursday, use binoculars to find the Pleiades rising some
30 degrees N of east. In the next 15 to 30 minutes, watch for Mars
rising 4 degrees below the Pleaides, and Mercury rising 3 degrees
lower right of Mars. By now it's only an hour before sunup and the
Moon still isn't up yet. By half an hour before sunup the very thin
old Moon is barely up in ENE, 5 degrees lower left of Mercury.
-
- An hour after sunset yellow-orange Arcturus, brightest star in
June's night sky, is near its high point in the south. Blue-white
Vega, atop the Summer Triangle, is in ENE halfway from horizon to
overhead. Deneb in NE and Altair in E complete the Triangle, which
is up all night from now through early August.
-
- The Moon is New today at 9:36 p.m. EDT. The Moon passes well
south of the Sun's disk, as you'll know when you observe the tilt of
the young crescent on Monday.
-
- Observers in Hawaii have a good chance to be the first on our planet
to see the thin young Moon with unaided eye. If you're there, look
for the 28-hour crescent very low in WNW 20 minutes after sunset
today. The mainland 48 states will have to wait until early Monday
evening for their first naked-eye view of the young Moon.
-
- Half an hour after sunset the young Moon is very low in WNW.
The crescent with horns pointing south appears like a bowl tipped
nearly on its side. From Michigan, the Moon is 48 hours old and 22
degrees from the Sun, so it's bright and relatively easy despite its
very low altitude. But don't be late!
-
- An hour after sunset the 3-day-old crescent Moon is very low, about
15 degrees N of west. Look for the Gemini Twins, Pollux and
Castor, 14 to 19 degrees to Moon's upper right.
Using binoculars an hour before sunup on Wednesday, if you have
an unobstructed view toward ENE, try for Mercury rising 3 degrees
below Mars. Look for the Pleiades 6 degrees above Mars. Within
next half hour, try for Venus rising 8 degrees lower left of Mercury.
Most difficult is Aldebaran 4 degrees below Mercury and 6 degrees
upper right of Venus.
-
- Two asteroids are now within easy reach of binoculars. Tonight
we'll hunt for Ceres, the largest asteroid. Wait until nightfall, when
the sky is very dark, then locate the reddish first-magnitude star
Antares, low, east of due south. It is flanked by two 3rd-mag. stars,
Sigma Scorpii 2 degrees to upper right, and Tau, just over 2 degrees
to lower left. To the upper right of Antares, nearly 6 degrees past
Sigma, is 2nd-mag. Delta Scorpii, the middle and brightest star of a
slightly curved, nearly vertical line of three stars marking the
Scorpion's head. The top star, 3rd-mag. Beta, is 3 degrees upper
left of Delta. Just 1.6 degrees left of Beta is 4th-mag. Nu. Tonight
and Thursday, the 7.5-mag. asteroid Ceres passes within 0.5 degree
above Nu. Thursday: How to find asteroid Vesta, mag. 6.3.
-
- Summer begins tonight at 10:24 p.m. EDT. An hour after sunset,
the 5-day-old crescent Moon is in west with Regulus, heart of Leo,
about 7 degrees to its upper left.
At nightfall we'll use binoculars to locate Vesta. Although it has
faded from six weeks ago, it remains the brightest asteroid. Locate
the first-mag. bluish star Spica in SW, 33 degrees below the even
brighter zero-mag. yellow-orange star Arcturus. Also find Antares,
the reddish first-mag. star low, a little E of due south. Between
Spica and Antares, not far above the midpoint of the line connecting
them, find two stars of 3rd magnitude, Alpha and Beta in Libra.
They are just west of due south at nightfall, with Beta 9 degrees
upper left of Alpha. Next, find the 4th-mag. star Mu in Virgo, 9
degrees upper right of Beta and nearly 11 degrees upper right of
Alpha. For the rest of this week, asteroid Vesta is within 3 degrees
lower left of Mu Virginis, and just inside one corner of the triangle
formed by Alpha and Beta Librae and Mu Virginis.
-
- An hour after sunset, the fat crescent Moon is in WSW, with
Regulus, heart of Leo, 8 degrees to its right. Tonight through
Tuesday, the Moon is in excellent view through binoculars and
telescopes. Near the terminator (day-night boundary), the Sun is just
rising over the lunar landscape, causing the Moon's surface features
to cast very long shadows, exaggerating the heights of crater walls,
mountains, and ridges, and the depths of craters. Tonight in the
lunar northern hemisphere, the broad expanse of the Sea of Serenity
lies astride the terminator, and the Sun is just rising on the craters
Aristoteles and Eudoxus. Tonight and Saturday, if the sky is clear,
Michigan State University Observatory will be open after the
Abrams Planetarium showing of "Through the Eyes of Hubble."
-
- One-and-a-quarter hours before sunrise, look low in ENE for the
Pleiades cluster with Mars 9 degrees to its lower left. Binoculars
give the best view of what follows, if you have a clear view of the
horizon. By an hour before sunup can you see Mercury rising 6
degrees to Mercury's lower left? In another 10 minutes, look for
Venus 1.6 degrees to Mercury's lower right, and Aldebaran 4
degrees to Venus' right. Bright Jupiter is easy to see in SW. If you
can still see Saturn in SE, that''s five planets in view
simultaneously! Venus, Mars, and Aldebaran will get higher and
easier to see each morning, while Mercury gets lower.
-
- Around sunset, the Moon is approaching First Quarter phase, its
right half illuminated and showing spectacular detail in binoculars
and telescopes. Along the terminator tonight are the walled plain
Archimedes in the lunar north, and the close trio of craters
Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel just south of the Moon's
center. South of Archimedes, the Apennine "mountain range" casts
long shadows over the Mare Imbrium plain.
Using binoculars, watch the ENE horizon an hour before sunup
Monday for the rising of Mercury, Venus, and Aldebaran. Venus is
6 degrees to Mars' lower left, Aldebaran is 6 degrees to Mars' lower
right and 4 degrees right of Venus. Mercury is within 3 degrees left
of Venus. As sunrise approaches, binoculars show the crescent
Venus only 6 percent lit.
-
- An hour after sunset, first-magnitude Spica is in SSW, 10 degrees
left of the Moon. Wait a few hours until Jupiter passes due south,
and use binoculars to see Comet Hale-Bopp about 10 degrees almost
directly above Jupiter. The comet, predicted to be about 7th
magnitude now, is moving WNW about 1/3 of a degree per day and
will pass 0.6 degree north of a 5.4-mag. star on the morning of June
27.
-
- An hour after sunset, the waxing gibbous Moon is in SW with Spica
about 4 degrees to its lower right.
An hour before sunrise on Wednesday, look for brilliant Venus just
risen in ENE. Mars is about 4-1/2 degrees above it, and Aldebaran
just over 3 degrees to Venus' right. Now through July 10, Venus
lingers no farther than Aldebaran than it is now, while both will get
higher and easier to see!
-
- An hour before sunrise for the rest of June, watch Mars and Venus
remain 4 degrees apart, with Mars passing upper left of Venus.
Aldebaran is 3 degrees right of Venus on Thursday; they'll be within
2.4 degrees July 2-4.
-
- For good quality telescopes: Overnight tonight, from 2:22 a.m. to
4:38 a.m. EDT (11:22 p.m. to 1:38 a.m. PDT), the shadow of
Jupiter's satellite Io appears as a tiny black dot marching across the
planet's disk from the planet's east limb to the west. Io itself follows
its shadow by 9 minutes; start watching well before 2:31 a.m. EDT
(11:31 p.m. PDT) to follow Io as a "star" approaching Jupiter until
it merges with the east limb.
-
- One hour after sunset, Moon is in SSE with Antares, heart of the
Scorpion, 8 degrees to its lower right. By three hours before sunup
on Saturday, they're still 8 degrees apart, but in the SW with
Antares to Moon's lower left.
-
- An hour after sunset, Moon is in SE to SSE. Antares is 16 degrees
to Moon's right, while bright Jupiter is very low in SE, 20 degrees
to Moon's lower left.
-
- Tonight's "Blue Moon" (second Full Moon this month) rises before
sunset and is low in SE as the sky darkens. Note Jupiter about 6
degrees below the Moon. They'll be up for the rest of the night,
closing to just over 4 degrees apart by dawn on Monday.
-
- Watch for the Moon's rising in ESE early this eveing -- within 20
minutes after sunset across the northern U.S., and within 35
minutes after sunset from Miami and SanDiego. The Moon is just
past Full, and Jupiter is about 12 degrees to its upper right.
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