Skywatch June 2005

by Julene M Johnson

Skywatch Stargazing Archives

Venus and Saturn are visible low in the western sky at sunset this month and we can watch Venus pull away from the Sun and out of the sunset and move closer to Saturn. Mercury begins to become visible around the 13th as he joins Venus and Saturn in the evening sky. Jupiter is also visible at sunset. He is higher in the southwest sky than the aforementioned trio. Mars is a morning star, rising in the middle of the night. The Sun reaches the Solstice at the Tropic of Cancer on the 21st. Our Australian friends can witness an occultation of Jupiter by the Moon. The Ophiuchid & Bootid showers peak this month, but they are minor showers.

On the evening of June 1st, the first stars you will see in the twilight sky will not be stars at all. They will be Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter will be high along the ecliptic near the Midheaven and youíll have to face south to spot him. Venus will be low along the western horizon, about an hour behind the setting sun. Currently, Venus is about 1.75 magnitudes brighter than Jupiter.

As it darkens even more, youíll notice Saturn pop into view above Venus as you follow the slant of the ecliptic. To the right of Saturn, Pollux & Castor of Gemini, will come into view. Saturn is not nearly as bright as Venus and Jupiter so it takes darker skies for him to become noticeable. Saturn is about 5 magnitudes dimmer than Venus and also dimmer than some of the bright stars youíll see pop into view in the western sky before him, like Capella of Auriga and Procyon of Canis Minor. Capella will be above and to the right of Venus, Procyon will be above and to the left of Venus. Saturn will pop into view between those two fixed stars.

If you are looking east about an hour before sunrise, youíll notice Mars high above the eastern horizon in the southeast sky. He rises around 2:00 a.m., which gives him time to gather some height as he advances along the ecliptic before dawn.

The Dance of Mercury, Venus & Saturn

This is definitely an exciting trio to watch this month. You can really notice how the inner planets move faster east than Saturn as both join him in the evening sky. You can also really notice that Mercury is faster than Venus as the messenger gains on the goddess of love and beauty. Mercury becomes visible after the 13th when he begins to climb out of the sunset on his eastern trek along the ecliptic. He climbs higher and higher each night and reaches Venus by monthís end. Venus is also climbing higher and higher each night and reaches Saturn by monthís end.

Northern Hemisphere Observation of the Dance (DST)

At the beginning of June, Venus lies a good distance from Saturn. Venus is below the feet of the Gemini Twins and Saturn is near their heads. Start watching for Mercury on the 13th. Depending on how near a city you are, it may be a few more days before you spot the innermost planet. By this time, Venus is about midway into the constellation Gemini and Mercury has crossed in the constellation to lie above their feet. By the 20th, you should be able to spot Mercury who will be midway through Gemini at about Venusí position on the 13th. Venus has moved on by this time and is near the Twinsí shoulders midway between Mercury & Saturn. After the 22nd the dance gets exciting! Watch as Venus moves to lie next to Saturn while Mercury catches up to them both. By the evening of the 24th the three are all next to each other in the evening sky. On the evening of the 25th, Venus is higher in the sky than Saturn. As the skies darken that night, see if you can spot Saturn below the brilliant Venus with Mercury ever so slightly to her right. Saturn is descending into the sunset now and his reign as an evening planet is coming to a close. As the end of the month progresses, Venus and Mercury continue to climb together pulling away from Saturn who gets lost in the glow of twilight. From the 25th until monthís end, watch Mercury pull to the left of Venus. By the 30th, Mercury will clearly be on Venusí left. If your skies are not dark enough to see Mercury, from the 24th on you can use binoculars in the region of the sky near Venus to spot him.

A sky map of the northern hemisphere is available in the OCA Public Library for the evening of June 24 at about 9:45 p.m.

Southern Hemisphere Observation of the Dance (ST)

Venus is very low along the western horizon. Sheíll be easier to locate as the first week of June progresses. Her brightness should enable her to shine through the glow of twilight despite her low position. The best times for you to view the dance of Saturn, Venus & Mercury is after the 20th. Mercury may be visible this night enabling you to start watching the show. Mercury is below Venus and sets shortly after 6:00 p.m., with Venus about 20 minutes behind. Saturn sets around 9:00 p.m. It gets easier to view the dance around the 22nd when Mercury & Venus climb higher and set 15 minutes later than they did on the 20th. On the evening of the 25th the three stack in the northwestern sky. Saturn is on top and Mercury on the bottom. The evening of the 26th will show Mercury has caught up to Venus and both are just below Saturn. On the 27th, Mercury and Venus catch Saturn and lie to his right. By the 28th, they pass him up. By the 30th, Mercury will appear higher in the sky than Venus.

A sky map of the southern hemisphere is available in the OCA Public Library for the evening of June 25th at about 6:15 p.m.

Jupiter Stations Direct

Jupiter stations direct on the 5th at 3:21 a.m. EDT. Due to the station, we wonít spot any eastward movement from Jupiter. He hangs below the fixed star Porrima of Virgo, which is near the Virginís shoulders and west of Spica.

Mars in the Northern Hemisphere (DST)

Mars rises around 2:40 on the 1st. Jupiter is low in the western sky at this time and sets about a half hour later. By sunrise on the morning of the 1st, Mars climbs well above the horizon and can be located in the east-southeast sky. By the 30th, Mars rises around 1:40 and makes his way higher to the sky by the time sunrise blots him from view. Look for Mars in the south-east sky at sunrise at the end of the month. He is still traveling among the dim stars of the constellation Pisces and will be the only speck of reddish light you see in the south-east as morning twilight overcomes the stars.

Mars in the Southern Hemisphere (ST)

Mars begins to peak above the eastern horizon on the 1st around 1:00 a.m. while Jupiter is still above the western horizon. By the time Jupiter sets, about 2:20 a.m., Mars has climbed a good distance over the horizon. Mars is high in the north-northeastern sky at sunrise when he begins to disappear into the glow of dawn. By monthís end Mars rises around 12:45 a.m. and is about due north at sunrise.

Sun Reaches the Tropic Cancer

The Sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer and maximum northern declination on the 21st at 2:46 a.m. EDT. This marks the summer solstice that kicks off the season for the northern hemisphere and the beginning of winter for the southern hemisphere. This is also the tropical ingress of the Sun into Cancer. Our seasons determine the Tropical Zodiac. The Equinoxes of spring and fall always occur when the Sun is at the intersection of the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator. The eastern intersection of these two great circles in the east marks 00Aries and the first day of spring in the north and of autumn in the south. The Sun continues to climb upward from the Celestial Equator and move across the Ecliptic he defines. He stops to hover at 23:26 N before beginning the descent back down to the western intersection of the two great circles. This hover point is the solstice point where the Sun appears to stand still for a day. It indicates the Sunís ingress into Cancer and the beginning of the following season: summer for northerners and winter for southerners.

Moon Data

The New Moon occurs on June 6th at 5:55 p.m. EDT. The Moon reaches apogee at 2:11 a.m. EDT on the 11th. She will be 251,970 miles from Earth. The First Quarter Moon occurs on June 14th at 9:22 p.m. EDT. The Full Moon occurs on June 22nd at 12:14 a.m. EDT. She reaches perigee the following day at 7:47 a.m. EDT, a distance of 223,490 miles from Earth. The Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 28th at 2:23 p.m. EDT.

The Moon Dances with the Planets ñ Northern Hemisphere

The month begins with Mars above and to the east of the Moon who passed him at the end of May. Watch each morning as she pulls away from the red planet. The New Moon occurs on the 6th and we can look for her to re-appear in the evening sky the next day. A day old slender sliver of a new moon hangs to the right of Venus on the evening of the 7th. On the evening of the 8th sheíll lie between Venus and Saturn. The Moon will make her way past Saturn to hang slightly above on the 9th. On the 15th, a waxing First Quarter Moon will dance to the east of Jupiter. It will be the morning of the 28th before the Moon comes near another visible planet. Look for Mars below and to the left of the Moon as she gains on him. On the 29th sheíll sit just to the left of Mars. By the 30th, she will have danced on by.

The Moon Dances with the Planets ñSouthern Hemisphere

Look for Mars just above the Moon on the morning of the 1st. She passed him up at the end of May. On the evening of the 9th, look for Venus below and to the left of the Moon as sunset darkens the skies. On the evening of the 10th, Saturn will be above and to the left of the Moon at sunset. By the evening of the 11th, the Moon will have danced on by. On the 15th she nears Jupiter. On the 16th she passes in front of the planet before he can set. This produces an occultation of Jupiter by the Moon in the areas of Indonesia, Philippines, northern Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Western Samoa. On the morning of the 29th, the Moon hangs above Mars in the morning sky. By the 30th she will have danced on past the red planet.

Minor Meteor Showers

The Ophiuchid Shower peaks on June 20th with expected rates of about 5 per hour. Radiants stem from the constellation Ophiuchus, which is to the east of Scorpius and Sagittarius.

Ophiuchus is fully above the horizon at sunset and does not set until sunrise, but he never climbs very high into the northern hemisphereís sky. Therefore this minor shower is going to be hard to catch.

Southern hemisphere observers may notice some activity radiating from the constellation Ophiuchus because he climbs much higher in the night sky. Expected Australian rates are about 8 per hour.

The Bootid Shower peaks on June 27th with a maximum number of meteors expected to be unknown because this shower is rather Uranian in nature. This comet, compliments of parent comet Pons-Winnecke usually puts out 2-5 or 1-2 meteors per hour, but in 1998 it put on a spectacular show of 50 ñ 100 per hours. You just never know what to expect from the Bootids.

The radiants stem from the constellation Bootes which is directly overhead at sunset near the zenith for northern hemisphere observers. Bootes is located above Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper) and Draco. Bootes is above and to the right of Ursa Major (The Big Dipper or Great Bear). Bootes is above and to the left of Hercules. Due to the height of the radiants, northern hemisphere observers have an excellent opportunity to see what it will produce this year.

Bootes is fully above the northern horizon by sunset in Australia. It never climbs very high into the sky and begins to set around midnight. Chances of catching this shower are not very good.

Happy Star Gazing!