Introduction
The end of May brought more, much-needed precipitation to Utah. Aside from the usual unaided eye views of the morning planets, the Moon, the ISS, and constellations, I was unable to do any serious stargazing with my telescope or astrophotography. However, I was able to scout around for some new dark sky locations so that the images I take will be somewhat different in composition instead of the same old images that some of you may be getting bored with. Another semester of school has ended so my schedule should free up slightly, as well as warmer temperatures, and the possibility of a higher number of cloud-free skies, I hope to be able to start off my observing season during June.
No Lunar Eclipse or meteor shower will steal the show during June, but this month will offer warmer weather, a chance for more cloud-free evenings and nights, and a schedule that may allow most observers the opportunity to begin their stargazing season for 2022. That's what my hope is this year! The highlight for June will come in the morning hours toward the end of the month. At this time, all seven planets will be visible before the Suns' brilliance overpowers the planetary glow. Beginning on the 18th and continuing until the 27th, not only will all the planets be visible, but a waning Moon will join them in the morning sky.
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| Mercury |
Mercury will be the last of the planets to rise above the Utah mountains before the Sun. As the month beings, Mercury will be too close to the Sun to view, but each morning will find the innermost planet moving away from the Sun. This motion will continue until the 16th, at which time Mercury will reach its greatest western elongation, allowing the planet to rise nearly an hour before the Sun, giving observers the best chance to view the planet. After the 16th, Mercury will begin to fall back towards the Sun from our perspective, but will not be lost from view until July. On the 27th, a thin crescent Moon will join Mercury in the morning sky.
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| Venus |
Depending on when an observer chooses to view the morning planets, brilliant Venus will be the 5th or 6th planet to rise before the Sun. Until the 12th, Uranus will rise in between Mercury and Venus. After this time, Venus will move into 6th place in the planetary lineup but will be the easiest planet to spot because of its brightness. The Moon will join Venus in the morning sky on the 26th, the day before Earth's natural satellite joins Mercury.
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| Mars |
Mars will be found in the center of the planetary lineup. Even though other planets will be switching positions, Mars will be in 4th place all month. The Red Planet and Jupiter had a recent conjunction at the end of May, so this pair of planets will remain close by as the month begins. As the month progresses, the distance between these two planets from our vantage point will increase dramatically. The Moon will join Mars in the morning sky on the 22nd. Due to the distance between the Earth and Mars, little, if any, surface detail will be able to be seen through a telescope.
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| Jupiter |
Jupiter will be the third planet to rise, following the imaginary trail left behind by Saturn and Neptune. As a result of the planetary conjunction between Mars and Jupiter towards the end of May, these two planets can be found close by during the first few days of June. Jupiter will move away from Mars and rise earlier with each passing day as the month progresses. The Moon will join Jupiter in the morning sky on the 21st.
Saturn will lead the planetary line up by rising above the Rocky Mountains around 2:30 in the morning at the start of the month. Like Jupiter, Saturn will rise earlier each morning, moving the time it rises above the mountains to shortly after midnight at month's end. An 80% lit Moon will join Saturn in the morning sky on the 18th.
The prime time for viewing Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will come later this year. Make sure your gear is ready for observing! I recommend using a widefield eyepiece to capture the background stars of whatever planet you are looking at, as well as a high-powered eyepiece to view as much detail as your telescope and the sky allows. A great alternative is a zoom eyepiece which allows you to accomplish both tasks with one eyepiece!
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus will be found closer to the Sun than Venus at the start of the month and will be hard to spot due to the Sun's glow. On the 13th, Uranus will pass Venus in our morning sky, making it the 5th planet to rise before sunrise. To view Uranus, an observer can use Venus on the 12th and 13th to help locate this planet. On the 12th, Uranus will be to the upper left of Venus. The following morning, Uranus will move to the upper right of Venus. As the month continues, Uranus will rise earlier and move farther away from bright Venus. On the 24th, the Moon will be within 0.05° of Uranus, but unfortunately, this conjunction occurs during daylight hours.
Neptune can be found in between Jupiter and Saturn during June. The most distant planet will be closer to Jupiter than to Saturn, but if an observer creates an imaginary line between Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune should be easy to find. The Moon can be found close to Neptune on the 20th.
Meteor Shower
June does not offer a major meteor shower, but an observer may still see up to seven background meteors per hour, especially if they are able to get away from all sources of light pollution. The summer months of the Northern Hemisphere allow observers the chance to view noctilucent clouds, however. Noctilucent clouds are formed by ice crystals that form on dust particles high in the atmosphere. The altitude of these clouds allows sunlight to reflect off of them long after the Sun has fallen below the horizon. These clouds are typically seen at locations with latitudes greater than Utah's, but occasionally, I have been able to see them from the west desert.
Spot Me....🕵️
I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. The objects I have selected this month are no different. In early spring, observers can view all 110 objects on a list of bright sky objects created by Charles Messier. This event in early spring is called the Messier Marathon. While I think this would be a fun experience, I would rather view these targets at a slower pace so my eyes and mind can really soak in what I am viewing. Over the next several months I would like to challenge my readers to view the Messier catalog. I will view these objects with you and supply images of how to find them with each monthly post. I am also creating a list of these objects which I will share in my midmonth post for June for my readers to look for the objects on their own, check them off as we go through them, and keep the list to mark some of their favorites. Since this is an extensive list, I will share a few objects during the main Monthly Night Sky Report followed by a few more in the Midmonth Check-In post.
I will begin the list with two targets that can be found in Hercules. This constellation can be found high in the eastern sky after sunset, putting these objects in an ideal location for viewing. One of my favorite targets is M13 (aka NGC 6205), the Great Hercules Globular Cluster. This cluster can be found between the shoulder blades of Hercules. Viewing through a telescope will reveal a densely packed (glob!) area of stars. I like to view M13 with a low power (widefield) eyepiece to soak in the surrounding area before switching to a high-power eyepiece to see how many stars I can resolve. See the images below for a guide on finding M13!
This first image depicts what the night sky will look like in early June when looking east after sunset. The brightest star in the image is Vega, which is part of Lyra. We will return to this constellation later this month.
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| Looking East after sunset. Vega is the brightest star in this image. |
Our target constellation is Hercules which consists of the stars to the upper right of Vega. The image below shows what Hercules looks like.
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| Hercules Constellation. |
The target area is the four stars that make up the torso of Hercules. See the image below which uses Vega as a guide.
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| Torso of Hercules, our target area. |
M13 is located between the two stars that make up the shoulder blades. See the image below.
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| The Great Hercules Globular Cluster is located here! |
The next target is M92 (aka NGC 6341), another globular cluster. I like to view this cluster the same way as M13, by beginning with a low power (widefield) eyepiece to soak in the surroundings before switching to a higher power eyepiece to see how many stars I can resolve. M92 can be found to the left of Hercules's torso from our vantage point. See the image below to find M92!
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| M92 is located here! |
Please remember to check back around June 15th for more Messier objects! The upcoming objects will be found in Serpens, Lyra, and Draco and will include nebulae, star clusters, and a galaxy!
Monthly Breakdown
June 07: First Quarter Moon 🌓
June 11: Venus and Uranus within 2°
June 14: Full Moon 🌕
June 16: Greatest western elongation of Mercury
June 18: Moon passes within 4° of Saturn
June 20: Moon passes within 4° of Neptune
June 20: Last Quarter Moon🌗
June 21: Summer Solstice occurs
June 21: Moon passes within 3° of Jupiter
June 22: Moon passes within 1° of Mars
June 24: Moon passes within 0.05° of Uranus
June 26: Moon passes within 3° of Venus
June 27: Moon passes within 4° of Mercury
June 28: New Moon 🌑
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images were taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.
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