June 2008 - Summer Solstice |
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Summer officially arrives at 10 PM MST (8 PM EST) on June 20, marking the longest day and shortest night of the year. For many in northern latitudes the northern sky remains awash in light as the sun sets in the far north west and rises a few hours later in the far north east. While the long days reduce available hours for star gazing, there are still numerous wonders of our night sky to enjoy this month.
You may have noticed the Big Dipper high overhead on spring and summer
evenings. As part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, we
think of the bear coming far out of winter’s hibernation where it is
more visible. On winter evenings the bear was found low to the
northern horizon, close to the earth where it hibernates. You may also
have wondered what happened to the bright star, Sirius which dazzled us
throughout winter evenings. Known as the “dog star” in the
constellation Canis Major, Sirius is up in our sky during the daytime
and, like all other stars in our daytime sky, is not visible.
Ancient astronomers determined that Sirius was in the vicinity of our
sun during the summer months and out of this arose the saying “the dog
days of summer.”
Last winter you may have noticed bright Venus in the morning
skies. Throughout the spring Venus began its circle to the far side of
the sun and on June 7 it reaches a spot directly opposite the sun from
us. In August, as the days shorten, you will catch a view of Venus
again in the western sky where it will dominate the evening skies
throughout the fall.
Two planets are visible as darkness falls on June evenings: Mars
and Saturn. Throughout June, Mars moves in a westerly direction
relative to the background stars. By the end of the month it is paired
with the bright star, Regulus, only a few degrees west of Saturn. Grab
the binoculars near the end of the month and take a look at this fine
meeting of Mars, Saturn and Regulus in the western sky. In early July
Mars and Saturn will be closely paired and together will drop down into
the sun’s glow in the early evening. Jupiter makes an appearance
around midnight in the southeastern constellation, Sagittarius. With a
telescope or steady binoculars you can see the four largest moons of
Jupiter and their nightly dance around the king of planets. As last
summer, Jupiter remains low in the southern skies, making it difficult
to see detail on the planet’s surface.
During June the moon helps us identify Mars and Saturn as well as
offering us a picturesque view of our close celestial neighbors. On
June 7 look for the crescent moon just below Mars in the evening sky
and on June 8 look for the crescent moon just below Regulus and Saturn
to the left.
Our brightest summer star, Vega, shines brightly in the northeast
after sunset. If you stay up late on June evenings you can see the
“summer triangle” emerge from the eastern horizon. Almost as bright as
Vega, Deneb appears north of Vega as the evening begins with Altair
completing the triangle as it climbs up from the eastern horizon later
in the evening
With the arrival of summer this month our planet also turns its
night face toward the centre of the galaxy. From a dark sky location
look for that river of light flowing directly overhead and soak in the
splendor of our fabulous universe.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 June 2008 )
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