Cosmic Lure: May 2020

I know that a few of my readers, myself included, were able to get outside and do some stargazing. I was able to go to the west desert of Utah in early May with the telescope and camera. I watched the weather all week and the meteorologists said the weekend would be clear and warm. When the weekend finally came and we started the drive to our destination, we noticed quite a few clouds in the western sky. We, especially me, were determined to do some stargazing since it had been so long since our last outing. We had never seen anyone else at our final destination, but on this particular night there were 4 or 5 families all camping there. Despite the clouds and other people, we decided to set up everything and hope that the clouds would blow over. Thankfully they did and we were able to look at Venus, the Hercules star cluster, the Beehive cluster, the Sombrero galaxy, and a few other star clusters. We also saw several meteors and satellites during our time there. We were hoping to be able to spot and image a few comets but were unable to. Hopefully this last weekend of May will be clear so that we can enjoy more stargazing!

Mercury

Mercury will be best viewed during the early part of the month when it is found high in the western sky after sunset. As June carries on, Mercury will move closer and closer to the Sun and will be lost in the bright orangish glare. On the first few evenings on the month, the star Procyon will also be found in the west after sunset and even be close to the same height in the sky. Mercury and Procyon will also appear close to the same magnitude during these early nights of June. Don't confuse these two! Procyon will be found further to the south (left) than Mercury when facing west. The innermost planet will be visible until close to 10:30 PM Mountain Time until the 10th of June. This will give many of us ample time to view this planet before it slips below the horizon. A slim crescent Moon will have a close encounter with Mercury on the 21st. Mercury may be hard to spot due to the glare of sunset by this late in the month, but still might be worth trying to catch a glimpse. Mercury will be in its turning point in its orbit from our vantage point, and will be found in the morning sky beginning in July.

Venus

Venus will be found in the morning sky throughout June. During the opening of the month, Venus will be found low on the eastern horizon just before sunrise. As the month marches on, Venus will pull itself further from our nearest star and will rise earlier each morning. It should be easy to spot due to its brilliance. As a fun fact, Venus is the natural object that is most often confused with being a UFO. This is due to how bright our sister planet can appear in our sky. Since Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it goes through phases like our Moon, except it never quite reaches its "full" phase since it cannot be opposite of the Sun from our vantage point. The phases are quite easy to see with a pair of binoculars or a telescope. I was able to see a slim crescent phase of Venus during the early part of May through my telescope. This was the clearest phase of Venus I have seen to date! Even though only a small fraction of Venus was illuminated, the planet still shone brightly and even looked like the Moon in some pictures that were taken. Speaking of slim crescents, a crescent Moon will join Venus on the morning of the 19th, creating a spectacular view. By the end of the month, Venus will rise nearly 2 hours before the Sun.

Mars

Mars will rise above the mountains in the early morning hours, around 3:00 AM Mountain Time, for the beginning of June. The red planet will rise earlier with each passing day with the final day of June finding Mars rising above the mountains around 2:00 AM Mountain Time. As mentioned in last month's Nightly Sky Report, Mars is at a point in its orbit that places it far away from the Earth, meaning that the red planet will not offer much, if any, surface detail through a telescope. The contrast between the red glow of this planet is still nice to look at and easy to spot next to a sea of white twinkling stars. On the morning of the 13th, the last quarter Moon will join Mars in the early morning sky.

Jupiter

As the month starts out, we will find Jupiter rising about the mountains shortly before 1:00 AM Mountain Time. By the end of the month however, this giant planet will rise nearly two hours earlier. Jupiter will offer great views through a telescope, especially to those who wait for the planet to climb high in the sky. A nearly full Moon will be found close to Jupiter in the early morning hours of June 8th and 9th. On the 8th, the Moon will be to the right of Jupiter. The following morning, Jupiter will be found to the upper right of the Moon.

Saturn

Just like in May, Saturn will follow closely behind Jupiter in our night sky. This ringed world will rise above the mountains shortly after 1:00 AM Mountain Time at the opening of the month and nearly two hours earlier by month's end. The nearly full Moon will join Saturn in the night sky, with its closest approach on the 9th. If you own a telescope, be sure to look at Saturn and gaze in awe at its majestic rings. While you should be able to make out the rings as soon as Saturn is above the eastern horizon, the best views will come when it lies high in the sky, shortly before sunrise.

While looking at Jupiter and Saturn with your unaided eye, you should also be able to see the Milky Way band to the right of these two planets. With each passing day, this band will rise earlier and is a great target for a telescope. I was amazed at how many stars a pair of binoculars could show. I have yet to scan the Milky Way band with my telescope, but hope to do so this year. If your location is not dark enough to view the Milky way band, you can use the red star, Antares and either Jupiter or Saturn to help find it. Antares will be on the right side edge of the Milky Way and Jupiter/Saturn will be slightly to the left. There are many star clusters, both globular and open, that can be seen in the Milky Way band, so be sure to take the time to see what you can find! Unfortunately, the Milky Way band will not rise above the mountains until after at the beginning of the month and around 10:00 PM by the end of the month. Next month however, we will see Milky Way band rising earlier with each passing night so those that can't stay up late will also have the chance to view many of the wonders that can be found here.

Neptune

Uranus

The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus is nearly 4 times the size of Earth, but lies over 19 times further from than Sun than we do. This great distance makes the glow of Uranus hard to see. Due to this great distance, Uranus will be lost in the Sun's morning glow until later in June. Uranus will rise above the Utah mountains around 5:00 AM at the beginning of the month. However, Uranus will rise earlier with each passing morning and will clear the mountains by 3:00 AM Mountain Time by the end of the month. Uranus will be joined by a slim crescent moon on the morning of June 17th. On this date, Uranus will be found just 4° above the Moon.

Neptune will rise above the mountains shortly after Mars at the beginning of the month. It should clear the mountains around 3:30 AM Mountain Time. The red planet will appear to move closer to Neptune until June 12th when the two planets are separated by less than 2°. The Moon will be found close to these planets on the same morning. As the month marches on, Mars will continue to move away from Neptune. By the end of the month, Neptune will rise above the mountains around 1:30 AM Mountain Time.

Meteor Shower

June does not offer us any major meteor showers.

Spot Me....🕵️

I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. This month, I want you to try and spot comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) again. As you may recall, you can use the two stars in the dipper part of the Big Dipper to draw an imaginary line to Polaris. Just off of the tip of the dipper part in the Big Dipper, you should be able to see comet T2 on the first night on the month. You will need a pair of binoculars or a telescope since its glow is too dim for the unaided eye to see. With each passing night, T2 will move further inside the dipper. By the 14th, T2 will be at the bottom of the dipper. Think of the Big Dipper as a giant scoop being used to scoop up some ice cream. A comet is just a big scoop of ice and dirt, afterall. The following night, T2 will have moved out through the bottom of the Big Dipper and continue moving away. By June 23rd, T2 will be found near the bright spiral galaxy M106 and near NGC 4449 on the following evening.

As always, leave a comment to let me and others know what you see!

Monthly Breakdown

June 04: Comet T2 enters the Big Dipper

June 05: Full Moon 🌕
June 08: Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon are close together

June 12: Moon passes within 3° of Mars

June 12: Moon passes within 4° of Neptune

June 12: Neptune passes within 3° of Mars
June 13: Last Quarter Moon 🌗

   June 15: Comet T2 falls out of the bottom of the Big Dipper
   June 16: Moon passes within 4° of Uranus
   June 20: Summer Solstice
   June 21: New Moon 🌑
   June 28: First Quarter Moon 🌓