Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of June 2024
The alluring Cat's Eye Nebula (C6, NGC 6543) lies three thousand light-years from Earth. The Cat's Eye was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered, yet it remains one of the most complex in structure. A classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye represents the final, brief phase in the life of a Sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star is believed to have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. This cosmic eye is over half a light-year across. Gazing into the Cat's Eye, astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our Sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution in about 5 billion years. [Video and Content Credits: NASA, the Office of Public Outreach – Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and JPL – Caltech, Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje with subject matter guidance provided by Bill Dunford, Gary Spiers, Lyle Tavernier, and Molly Wasser] [Image Credit: Peter Bresler, Astromart Gallery Contributor - https://www.astromart.com/gallery/user/191 ]
Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of June 2024
Welcome to the night sky report for June 2024 -- Your guide to the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and celestial events that are observable during the month. All the planetary action continues to be in the morning sky, with Saturn and Mars rising in the early morning hours. They are joined later in the month by Jupiter. A number of online sources have created excitement about a "Parade of Planets" that will be visible in the morning sky in early June. Unfortunately we are in for a bit of a disappointment because in reality, only two of the six planets (Saturn and Mars) will actually be visible. In early June, Jupiter and Mercury will be at or below the horizon in the morning twilight and not visible… And Uranus and Neptune are too far and too faint to be seen without a telescope, especially as the morning sky brightens. During the month, look for the Hercules constellation, which will lead you to a globular star cluster with hundreds of thousands of densely packed stars. Globular cluster M13 (the Hercules Cluster, NGC 6205) is best observed with a telescope, but binoculars will reveal it as a fuzzy spot. You can also spot Draco the dragon, which will point you to the Cat’s Eye Nebula (C6, NGC 6543). The night sky is truly a celestial showcase. Get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.
On June 2nd in the hour before sunrise, reddish Mars hangs beneath the crescent Moon. Find the pair low in the east with Saturn lurking nearby. The following morning, on June 3rd, the Moon has moved so that it sits beneath Mars.
During the last week of June, giant Jupiter re-emerges as a morning planet, after passing behind the Sun, from our point of view on Earth, over the past couple of months. By June 24th, you can find it about 10 degrees above the horizon as the morning sky begins to brighten. It climbs a little higher each morning after that as July approaches.
Then on June 27th, look for the Moon with Saturn. The pair rise around midnight, and by dawn you'll find them high in the southern sky. They appear super close together this morning – close enough to appear in the same field of view through binoculars.
When you spot bright or moving objects in the night sky, it might not be immediately clear what you're looking at. Is that a planet, or just a bright star? Is it a satellite, or maybe just an airplane? Here are a few quick tips on how to tell the difference.
First, there are five planets that are easily observed with the unaided eye. Of these, two planets – Venus and Jupiter – can sometimes appear incredibly bright, like shining beacons in the sky. The other planets are much less bright, but still generally shine as brightly as bright stars.
The big tipoff that you're looking at a star and not a planet is that planets tend to shine steadily, whereas stars twinkle. Stars are so far away that they're just points of light, and ripples in our atmosphere easily distort them, causing the familiar flicker. The planets are relatively closeby, being here in our solar system. Through binoculars or a telescope, instead of a single point, planets show us a tiny disk or crescent that's illuminated by the Sun. So even though they appear star-like to the eye, the light from a planet is coming from a slightly more spread-out area, making planets appear more constant in brightness. Both planets and stars rise in the east and set in the west, and they move very slowly across the sky during the night.
But what if you see an object that's moving? Distant aircraft are usually pretty easy to identify, because they follow a slow, steady path that's straight or gently curving. They have exterior lights that flash in a regular pattern, often including a red beacon.
Satellites tend to be most visible in the hour or so after dark or before dawn, when it's night here on the surface, but the satellites are high enough in the sky to be illuminated by sunlight. They're generally fainter than aircraft, and move in slow, very steady, very straight paths. They might briefly flare in brightness, but they don't have lights that blink.
The International Space Station is an exception, because it's very bright, and is often visible for long enough to observe the curving path of its orbit. But it doesn't have flashing lights you can see from the ground, and it does something else satellites do: Satellites often fade out of view as they travel into Earth's shadow, or fade into view as they emerge. And occasionally you might see a train of satellites moving slowly and silently in formation.
One other sight that's sometimes confusing is rocket launches that happen soon after sunset or before sunrise. Similar to spotting satellites, this is when it's darker here on the ground, but launching rockets climb high enough to be illuminated by sunlight. When rockets launching at these times of day get really high in altitude, their exhaust can be brilliantly illuminated, and sometimes you might even see spiral or circular shapes that slowly grow and then dissipate, as a spent rocket stage empties its propellant into space.
With so much to see in the night sky, it's helpful to be familiar with some of these common sights, so you can get on with your skywatching and investigate whatever mysteries and wonders you're in search of.
Facing southward early on June evenings, you'll notice two particularly bright stars high in the sky. They are Spica and Arcturus.
Blue-white Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, the maiden. It's located about 250 light years away, and is actually two stars orbiting each other every 4 days at a distance far closer than Mercury orbits our Sun.
Orange giant Arcturus is the brightest star in Bootes, the herdsman. It's the fourth brightest star in the sky. It's much closer than Spica, at a distance of about 37 light years. It's also quite an old star, compared to our Sun, at an age of 7-8 billion years.
Also on June evenings, you'll notice the stars of the Summer Triangle – Vega, Deneb, and Altair – rising in the couple of hours after dark, and heralding the long, warm nights of Northern summer. The Triangle rises earlier each month as summer progresses.
June 21 is the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, and Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. For the north, it's the longest day of the year, as the Sun traces its highest, longest path across the sky. More hours of sunlight, in addition to the more direct angle of the Sun overhead, translate into warmer summertime temperatures for our planet's summer hemisphere. The situation is reversed for those living south of the equator, where it's the shortest day of the year, during the cool months of winter.
The June summer solstice has another interesting claim to fame. It helped the Ancient Greeks, 2200 years ago, to understand the size of our planet with remarkable accuracy. A scholar named Eratosthenes noted the difference in the length of the shadows cast by poles placed in the ground in two cities, 800 kilometers apart, at noon on the day of the solstice. One cast no shadow at all and the other cast a significant shadow. By comparing the shadows with the separation of the two cities, Eratosthenes deduced that Earth was about 40,000 kilometers in circumference, which is the actual value.
He was also the first to calculate the tilt of Earth's axis – which, after all, is what's responsible for the solstices and for the seasons themselves.
The balmy nights of June are short, but filled with fine sights for the backyard stargazer. Look for the Big Dipper riding high in the northwest. Its handle points toward Arcturus: the fourth-brightest star in the night sky. Arcturus is part of the constellation Bootes, the herdsman.
Bootes also contains a double star called Epsilon Bootes, or Izar. The striking pair of stars appears yellow-orange and bluish in a modest telescope.
To the left of Bootes sits a semicircle of stars known as Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.
Next to Corona Borealis, we find the dim constellation of Hercules, the strongman of Greek mythology. June is an excellent time to observe one of the best-known globular star clusters – M13, also known as the Hercules Cluster. Globular clusters are spherical collections of stars, tightly packed together in their centers. M13 itself contains several hundred thousand stars.
Globular clusters are also extremely old. The stars in M13 are thought to be around 12 billion years old, which is approaching the age of the universe itself. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is known to have about 150 globular clusters. They orbit outside the galaxy's disk, traveling tens of thousands of light-years above and below its spiral arms and most of its stars.
The Hercules Cluster is best observed with a telescope, and larger telescopes will allow you to see more of the cluster's stars. But you can also find it with a pair of binoculars, where it'll look like a hazy little spot.
Find M13 in the constellation Hercules, which is high in the east in the first couple of hours after dark in June. First look for the bright stars Vega and Arcturus. Then find the four stars that comprise "the Keystone," which is the pattern making up the central part of Hercules. You'll find M13 about a third of the way between the two stars on the western, or leading, side of the Keystone.
Just outside the Keystone sits another globular cluster: M92 (NGC6341). M92 is more distant than the Hercules Cluster, and looks smaller and fainter through a telescope. An image from Hubble shows many bright, old red giant stars in its crowded core.
North of Hercules, breathing fire on his feet, lays Draco the dragon. Draco’s long body curls around the Little Dipper. Located along the dragon’s coils is NGC 6543—the Cat’s Eye Nebula, a cloud of expanding and glowing gas from a dying star.
On summer evenings, you may notice a curved grouping of stars crawling across the southern sky, among them a brilliant red beacon. This is the constellation Scorpius, the scorpion, and beginning in June, it's the prime time to look for it.
This grouping of stars has been thought of as having the shape of a scorpion going back to ancient times in the Mediterranean and Middle East. In the Greek myth, the scorpion's deadly sting brought down the great hunter Orion, and that's why – the story goes – we find them on opposite sides of the sky today.
This pattern of stars also been seen as part of a great dragon, in China, and the fish hook of the demigod Maui in Hawaii. That fish-hook shape also forms the tail of the scorpion.
At the beginning of June, if you're in the northern hemisphere, the scorpion's tail might still be below the horizon for you, early in the evening. It rises over the first few hours after dark. But by the end of the month, the scorpion's tail will be above the horizon after sunset for most stargazers.
That bright, beacon-like star in Scorpius is Antares, which is a huge red giant star and one of the brightest in the sky. It forms the blazing heart of the scorpion. So look toward the south and use Antares as your guide to find the constellation Scorpius.
Finally in June, a quick introduction to the constellation Lyra, one of the smaller constellations that's home to one of the brightest stars. It represents a lyre, or harp, played by the musician Orpheus in Greek mythology. In Arab cultures, as well as ancient Egypt and India, Lyra was seen as an eagle. And the Inca of South America saw it as a llama.
Find Lyra by looking for Vega, which is the western-most of the three bright stars in the Summer Triangle. In the Northern Hemisphere, you'll find it halfway up the eastern sky in the first couple of hours after dark in June. Vega is by far the brightest star in Lyra. It's the fifth brightest star in the sky and the second brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, after Sirius.
A pair of binoculars will help you see the other stars in Lyra, which form a sort of parallelogram hanging beneath it. It's sometimes described as looking a bit like a diamond ring, with Vega as the diamond.
And that's not the only ring in Lyra. It's also home to the famous Ring Nebula, where a star has blown off most of its outer layers, leaving behind a remnant star known as a white dwarf.
The night sky is always a celestial showcase. Explore its wonders from your own backyard.
The following Deep Sky Objects are found in constellations that peak during the month. Some can be viewed with a small telescope, but the majority will require a moderate to large telescope. The following is adapted from my personal viewing list: "The Guy Pirro 777 Best and Brightest Deep Sky Objects."
Constellation: Bootes
NGC 5248 Galaxy C45, Herschel 400 H34-1
NGC 5466 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H9-6
NGC 5557 Galaxy Herschel 400 H99-1
NGC 5676 Galaxy Herschel 400 H189-1
- NGC 5660 Galaxy Paired with H189-1
NGC 5689 Galaxy Herschel 400 H188-1
Constellation: Corona Borealis
NONE
Constellation: Draco
NGC 3147 Galaxy Herschel 400 H79-1
NGC 4125 Galaxy P26
- NGC 4121 Galaxy Paired with P26
NGC 4236 Galaxy C3
NGC 5866 Galaxy M102, Herschel 400 H215-1
NGC 5906 Galaxy Herschel 400 H759-2
NGC 5982 Galaxy Herschel 400 H764-2
NGC 6503 Galaxy P80
NGC 6543 Planetary Nebula C6, Herschel 400 H37-4 Cat’s Eye Nebula
NGC 6832 Open Cluster P27
Constellation: Hercules
IC 4593 Planetary Nebula P158 White Eyed Pea Nebula
NGC 6205 Globular Cluster M13 Great Hercules Cluster
NGC 6207 Galaxy Herschel 400 H701-2
NGC 6210 Planetary Nebula P34
NGC 6229 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H50-4
NGC 6341 Globular Cluster M92
Constellation: Libra
NGC 5897 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H19-6
Constellation: Lyra
NGC 6720 Planetary Nebula M57 Ring Nebula
NGC 6779 Globular Cluster M56
NGC 6791 Open Cluster P162
Constellation: Ophiuchus
IC 4634 Planetary Nebula P168
IC 4665 Open Cluster P36
NGC 6171 Globular Cluster M107, Herschel 400 H40-6
NGC 6218 Globular Cluster M12
NGC 6235 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H584-2
NGC 6254 Globular Cluster M10
NGC 6266 Globular Cluster M62
NGC 6273 Globular Cluster M19
NGC 6284 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H11-6
NGC 6287 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H195-2
NGC 6293 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H12-6
NGC 6304 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H147-1
NGC 6309 Planetary Nebula P236 Box Nebula
NGC 6316 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H45-1
NGC 6325 Globular Cluster P169
NGC 6333 Globular Cluster M9
NGC 6342 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H149-1
NGC 6355 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H46-1
NGC 6356 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H48-1
NGC 6366 Globular Cluster P37
NGC 6369 Planetary Nebula Herschel 400 H11-4 Little Ghost Nebula
NGC 6401 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H44-1
NGC 6402 Globular Cluster M14
NGC 6426 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H587-2
NGC 6517 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H199-2
NGC 6572 Planetary Nebula P38 Emerald Nebula
NGC 6633 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H72-8
Constellation: Scorpius
NGC 6093 Globular Cluster M80
NGC 6121 Globular Cluster M4
NGC 6124 Open Cluster C75
NGC 6139 Globular Cluster P53
NGC 6144 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H10-6
NGC 6153 Planetary Nebula P189
NGC 6178 Open Cluster P111
NGC 6192 Open Cluster P190
NGC 6216 Open Cluster P210
NGC 6231 Open Cluster C76
NGC 6242 Open Cluster P54
NGC 6249 Open Cluster P191
NGC 6259 Open Cluster P112
NGC 6268 Open Cluster P192
NGC 6281 Open Cluster P55
NGC 6302 Planetary Nebula C69 Butterfly Nebula
NGC 6318 Open Cluster P249
NGC 6322 Open Cluster P56
NGC 6374 Open Cluster P193
NGC 6383 Open Cluster P57
NGC 6388 Globular Cluster P58
NGC 6396 Open Cluster P194
NGC 6400 Open Cluster P195
NGC 6404 Open Cluster P250
NGC 6405 Open Cluster M6 Butterfly Cluster
NGC 6416 Open Cluster P59
NGC 6425 Open Cluster P113
NGC 6441 Globular Cluster P114
NGC 6451 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H13-6
NGC 6453 Globular Cluster P115
NGC 6475 Open Cluster M7 Ptolemy Cluster
NGC 6496 Globular Cluster P60
Constellation: Serpens Caput
NGC 5904 Globular Cluster M5
NGC 6118 Galaxy Herschel 400 H402-2 Blinking Galaxy
For more information:
Northern Latitudes:
https://hubblesite.org/resource-gallery/tonights-sky
https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm
https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/home/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/skyreport
http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public/skywatch.html
https://griffithobservatory.org/explore/observing-the-sky/sky-report/
http://www.beckstromobservatory.com/whats-up-in-tonights-sky-2/
https://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/planetarium/eye-on-the-night-sky
http://dudleyobservatory.org/tonights-sky/
https://cse.umn.edu/mifa/starwatch
http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro/nightsky/maps
https://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/
https://www.adventuresci.org/starcharts
https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=kiss+the+sky&from=&to
Equatorial Latitudes:
https://heavens-above.com/SkyChart2.aspx
https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellations_map.php
https://ytliu0.github.io/starCharts/chartGCRS.html
Southern Latitudes:
https://www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/
https://www.stardome.org.nz/star-charts--sky-spotter
Watch Satellites Pass Over Your Location:
https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/
Astromart News Archives:
https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=.
Check out some of my favorite Words of Wisdom:
https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-quotable-quotes
https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-proverbs-from-around-the-world
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