Items Featured In TGP NOMINAL 8.8 - June Skies 2022
Ross Hockham's June Sky Guide:
So what was all the fuss about the Tau Herculid Meteor Shower?
In 1930 a comet was discovered by a couple of German astronomers
called Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann.
The Comet is called 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as SW3
and It orbits the sun approximately every 5.4 years.
But why is it suddenly special?
Well in 1995 the small dim comet suddenly and completely unexpectedly brightened
becoming eventually visible with the naked eye.
In the spring of 2006 the comet then disintegrated
breaking eventually into 68 pieces, some of which were pushed out towards our orbit.
They are now saying that Earth would have a direct interaction with the material released possibly causing a meteor storm!
These have been reported through history as intense meteor showers.
But this is very hit and miss, they are saying it may produce the same amount as the December Geminid Meteor Shower
or nothing at all.
So by now we will know, and will have to talk about it next month.
The beginning of the month and the end of the month are great times to get out and try finding those Deep Space Objects,
We always mention deep space objects but what are they?
Planets and the Moon are closer as we know they are in our own solar system and can generally be seen quite easily with the naked eye, apart from Uranus and Neptune.
Asteroids, Minor Planets, Dwarf planets etc are also generally closer, although harder to see as are small or farther away but still count as being close.
Deep space objects I would say count as things outside of our solar system
like Nebulas, Globular Clusters and other Galaxies.
Although I like to think of them as "Fainter Objects" further away that are harder to see
when the moon is about or with light pollution in the way.
So as the moon is out the way, the beginning and end of the month are best to pop out and hunt for these cool sights, although the nights are short and brighter than we would like, there’s still plenty to spot.
The Planets are still up in the Morning sky!
To the East at 1:40am, Saturn starts to rise, followed by Jupiter and Mars at 2:45am with Venus joining them at 3:40am. Mercury will also be rising up as the month goes on.
Neptune is to the right of Jupiter and Mars but it’s too bright for us to spot it at the moment.
Uranus is also too close to the sun for us to see, so we’ll have to wait a while to find the fainter further planets
with the sun rising at 4:50am and setting at 21:10 at the beginning of June (That’s a long day!).
On the 6th, The moon is almost at its quarter phase, so tonight is a great time to spot the Lunar X and V
which are known as the Claire-Obscur Effect.
This is where light and shadow on the Moon creates the illusion of the letters on the Moon's surface
glancing off a few craters.
The X is only visible for a few hours before the first quarter moon, so it's quite a narrow window of opportunity to spot it.
On the 10th at around 1:50am, the moon will Occult a star, Theta Virginis which is a multiple star system
in the constellation Virgo (The Virgin / Maiden) which will slip behind it until 2:28am
they will be low as both set just after the event.
Remember timings can change depending on your location so always best to pop out a bit before the allotted time.
The star can be seen with the naked eye.
The Full Moon on the 14th is not far from its closest point to the Earth in its orbit around us
so this Moon is known as a Super Moon.
It appears slightly bigger in the sky which is a bit of an illusion caused by our atmosphere and the way our eyes judge distances etc and is an ongoing debate as to why this happens.
All I can say is that it will look cool rising up above the horizon at 22:00.
On the 16th, Mercury reaches its greatest elongation to the west.
So is now Mercury is a morning Planet joining the rest.
Although, with it rising at 4am it's not great time to view it because sunrise happens about the same time
but if you have a low Eastern horizon you may spot it, maybe a pair of binoculars will help.
Just be very careful when observing near the Sun!
On the 19th The moon meets Saturn in the Morning sky today, the planet will be just to the top right
of the almost half Moon, Saturn is slowly getting higher up into the early Morning skies
so viewing it will get better as the months go on.
The 21st marks the Northern Hemisphere's Summer Solstice.
Where the Sun (10.14am) reaches its most Northerly position in our sky.
We think it may have been related to timings of crop cycles marked by the Celtic Britons lighting bonfires
which they thought would help boost the Sun's strength for the rest of the season for a healthy Harvest.
The crescent Moon is now near the gas giant Jupiter in the Morning sky on the 22nd.
it's actually placed in between Mars and Jupiter, but Jupiter will be the easiest to spot in the brightening Morning sky.
It’s now Mars turn to meet the Moon on the morning of the the 23rd, having swept underneath it
The thin crescent will be below left of the faint red planet.
On the 26th, Venus will now meet a thin crescent Moon with Mercury rising later.
The even thinner moon will be pretty much above the goddess of beauty
with a faint Pleiades (M45) Star Cluster above them.
Binoculars may help you see the cluster of blue stars, just mind the morning Sun.
On the 27th, Mercury now lies close to an even thinner Moon this morning.
Again being almost directly above the smallest planet, as stated earlier you will need a clear, low horizon to spot them
but it’s always a bit of fun planet and moon hunting.
Naked Eye Objects Of The Month:
The Summer Triangle is an invisible triangle created by drawing a line from the star Deneb
to it's right the constellation Cygnus (The Swan)’s tail
to the star Vega in the constellation Lyra (The Harp) then to the star Altair in Aquila (The Eagle)
The three bright stars in the Summer sky.
Which was popularised by British Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore in the 1950’s but has been found in writings back to 1913. But there is an old Chinese Folklore Tale called The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
a story about these stars dating back around 2600 years.
to it's right the constellation Cygnus (The Swan)’s tail
to the star Vega in the constellation Lyra (The Harp) then to the star Altair in Aquila (The Eagle)
The three bright stars in the Summer sky.
Which was popularised by British Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore in the 1950’s but has been found in writings back to 1913. But there is an old Chinese Folklore Tale called The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
a story about these stars dating back around 2600 years.
While out looking at the Summer Triangle keep an eye out for satellites
bright white dots of light that seem to wizz across the sky.
A friend of mine was out the other night with his new binoculars and told me how amazed he was at the speed and amount of them he saw, so why not pop out and have a look up see how many you can spot in a certain time.
Why not have a look out for The International Space Station (ISS) as it circles the Earth 16 times a day.
Recently, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that has been spotted in the skies as it waited to dock with the ISS.
While out looking at the Summer Triangle keep an eye out for satellites
bright white dots of light that seem to wizz across the sky.
A friend of mine was out the other night with his new binoculars and told me how amazed he was at the speed and amount of them he saw, so why not pop out and have a look up see how many you can spot in a certain time.
Why not have a look out for The International Space Station (ISS) as it circles the Earth 16 times a day.
Recently, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that has been spotted in the skies as it waited to dock with the ISS.
Binocular Object Of The Month
Cygnus has a host of clusters all over the constellation, so if you have a pair of binoculars
why not have a look at the star Sadr which is where the wings of the swan join.
Around here you will see tons of little clusters of stars
they say that the next star along towards its head lies the first Black Hole discovered by galactic X-Ray.
So enjoy hunting for objects around this awesome constellation slap bang in the Milky Way.
Telescope Object Of The Month:
The giant gold star Albirio is one of the most famous Double Stars in the Northern Hemisphere.
It is the head of the swan in the constellation Cygnus and through a telescope
you will see the gold star has a smaller blue companion with it, making a fantastic view.
Astrophotography Object Of The Month:
The North American Nebula can be found just below left of the constellation Cygnus (The Swan)'s tail
and can't really be seen by eye that’s why cameras are great at seeing it,
This cool Emission Nebula resembles the shape of North America hence it's name.
British Astronomer William Herschel noticed a faint milky nebulosity here
but it wasn’t until a long exposure picture was taken that it could be seen in all its glory.
It appears in most pictures as a huge red mass of cloud and dust
with a black (what to me looks like) a sword shaped gap in the middle of it.
So pop out and see what you can grab!