Astroblog

Approximate binocular view of Mars and the Beehive cluster on Wednesday June 23, 2021 (click to embiggen)	Approximate binocular view of Mars and the Beehive cluster on Thursday June 24, 2021 (click to embiggen)
Evening twilight sky on Wednesday, June 23 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 18:44 ACST (90 minutes after sunset).	Evening twilight sky on Thursday, June 24 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 18:44 ACST (90 minutes after sunset).

Over the next two days there will be a really lovely event. Mars will pass over the beehive cluster in the constellation of Cancer. While the beehive cluster is technically visible to the unaided eye, it is at the very threshold and the cluster and Mars will be only 13 degrees above the horizon (about two hand-spans) in the horizon murk.

However, the cluster and Mars will early fit within a binoculars or medium field of view telescope eye piece, so it will be a magnificent sight in even small instruments. Finding Mars above the horizon is easy as the relatively bright reddish object over the horizon, and in binoculars the cluster will be obvious.

Even if you miss these two days (looks at rain bucketing down) Mars will  be within a binocular field of th cluster for another tw days at least.

Labels: Beehive cluster, binocular, Mars

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:19 pm 0 comments

The Full Moon is Friday, June 25.

Whole sky at 18:44 ACST  (90 minutes after

 

Evening twilight sky on Thursday, June 24 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 18:44 ACST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is in front of the Beehive cluster on the 24th. You will require binoculars to see this. The inset shows the approximate binocular view of mars and the beehive at this time

 

 

 

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). 

 

 

 

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Morning twilight sky at 6:24 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), on Saturday, June 26 facing east as seen from Adelaide. 

 

Mercury is visible below the bright star Aldebaran.
 

 

 

 

 

 Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time  (45 minutes before sunrise)

 

Mercury returns to the morning twilight this week, rising below the bright star Aldebaran, and is now easy to see an hour before sunrise.

Venus is becoming more visible in the twilight.  I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset and it is easily seen 60 minutes after sunset.  Venus is coming closer to Mars in the mid-twilight.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is coming closer to Venus. Mars is in front of the Beehive cluster on the 24th. You will require binoculars to see this. Just find Mars and the cluster will be easily visible in binoculars.

   
Jupiter is now above the eastern horizon well before midnight. Jupiter is visited by the waning Moon on the 28th. On the 29th the line up is Saturn Jupiter and the Moon. 

 

 Saturn is now rising well around 8pm.  It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen near Jupiter above the north-western horizon.  Saturn is visited by the waning Moon on the 27th. On the 26th the line up is the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter.

 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:18 am 0 comments

The ISS as seen from Sydney  on the evening of  Monday 21 June  at 17:38 AEST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.	The ISS  as seen from Adelaide on the evening of  Saturday 19 June at 18:43 ACST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.	The ISS as seen from Perth on the evening of  Sunday 20 June at 17:38 AWST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.
All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Monday 21 June for Sydney.	All sky chart showing local  times from Heavens Above for Saturday 19 June for Adelaide.	All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for  Sunday 20 June for Perth.

None in this time frame

Passes from Hobart (AEST) 

Passes from Perth (AWST)

 
Passes from Sydney (AEST)

 

When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use  Heavens Above  to get site specific predictions for your location, a small difference in location can mean the difference between the ISS passing over a star or planet or missing it completely. As always, start looking several minutes before the pass is going to start to get yourself oriented and your eyes dark adapted. Be patient, there may be slight differences in the time of the ISS appearing due to orbit changes not picked up by the predictions. Use the most recent prediction for your site.

Labels: ISS, Satellite, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:11 am 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Friday, June 18. The Moon is at perigee, when it is closest t the Earth, on the 23rd. Earth is at solstice on the 21st, when the day is shortest.

Evening sky on Saturday, 

Whole sky at 18:42 ACST  (90 minutes after

Mars is in front of the Beehive cluster on the 23rd and 24th. You will require binoculars to see this.

 

 

 

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Morning sky at 6:38 ACST (45 minutes before sunrise), on Thursday, June 24 facing east as seen from Adelaide. 

 

Mercury is visible below the bright star Aldebaran.
 

 

 

 

 

 Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time  (45 minutes before sunrise)

 

Mercury returns to the morning twilight this week, rising below the bright star Aldebaran, but it will be difficult to see until the end of the week.

Venus is becoming more visible low in the twilight.  I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset and it is easily seen 60 minutes after sunset.  Venus is coming closer to Mars in the mid-twilight.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is coming closer to Venus. Mars is in front of the Beehive cluster on the 23rd and 24th. You will require binoculars to see this. Just find Mars and the cluster will be easily visible in binoculars.

   
Jupiter is now above the eastern horizon well before midnight.

 

 Saturn is now rising well around 8pm.  It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen near Jupiter above the north-western horizon. 

 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:47 pm 0 comments

Evening twilight sky on Saturday June 12 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:54 ACST (45 minutes after sunset). Venus is low above the horizon close to the thin crescent Moon. The pair will fit easily into the field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).	Evening twilight sky on Sunday June 13 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:54 ACST (45 minutes after sunset). Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).	Evening twilight sky on Monday June 14 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:54 ACST (45 minutes after sunset). Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

On the weekend and extending to Monday, weather permitting, there will be a delightful planet dance where the crescent Moon visits first Venus and then Mars. 

Venus and the Moon can be easily seen from as soon as 15 minutes after sunset, but you may have to wait until 45 minutes after sunset to see Mars clearly. You will need a level unobstructed horizon to see Venus at its best. 

On the 12th Venus is close to the Moon, the pair will fit easily into the field of view of 10x50 binoculars and may even fit into wide field telescope eye-pieces. On the 13th the crescent Moon is now between Venus and Mars and on the 14th the moon is close to Mars. 

Definitely worth a look.

Labels: Mars, Moon, unaided eye, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:36 pm 0 comments

The New Moon is Thursday, June 10.

Evening twilight sky on Saturday June 12 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:54 ACST (45 minutes after sunset). Venus is low above the horizon close to the thin crescent Moon. The pair will fit easily into the field of view of 10x50 binoculars.

Evening sky at 18:41 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Monday June 14 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. 

 

Mars is a low above the horizon forming a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor.  The Moon is not far from Mars.
 

 

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time  (90 minutes after sunset)

 

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:33 pm 0 comments

 Evening sky on Saturday, June 12 showing the western sky as seen from Adelaide at 17:39 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is close to the crescent Moon. 

 (similar views will be seen Australia wide at the equivalent local time, 30 minutes after sunset) click to embiggen. 

The June edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.

This month the planetary action is mostly in the evening skies, Saturn and Jupiter are now readily visible in the late evening skies, Venus becomes easier to see, the Earth is at solstice and fading Mars crosses the beehive cluster.

1-8 June; Mars forms a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor. June 2 Last Quarter. June 8; apogee Moon. June 10; New Moon. June 12; thin crescent Moon and Venus close. June 13-14; Mars and crescent Moon close. June 18; First Quarter Moon, June 21; Earth at Solstice. June 23; perigee Moon. June 23rd and 24th; Mars passes directly over the Beehive cluster. June 25; Full Moon. June 27; the Moon close to Saturn. June 28; the waning moon is near Jupiter.

 Mercury Mercury returns to the morning twilight by mid-month. However, it is only visible in the last week of June, below the bright red star Aldebaran.

Venus is now easily visible in the evening sky 30 minutes after sunset (I can see it as early as 15 minutes after sunset). Venus begins to dominate the early evening twilight and on the 12th is a mere 2 finger-widths from the crescent Moon.

Mars  is low above the western horizon, best seen an hour to an hour and a half after sunset. Mars starts in Gemini this month then moves into cancer. On the 1st Mars forms a line with the bright “twins” Pollux and Castor. Mars is then bracketed by the crescent Moon on the 13th and 14th by about a hand-span. On the 23rd and 24th Mars passes directly over the Beehive cluster

 Jupiter Jupiter is readily visible around midnight and continues to climb in to the late evening sky. On the 1st Jupiter is a handspan from the waning Moon, and again on the 28th.

Saturn rises well before midnight from the beginning of the month but is still best seen in the morning. On the 26th the waning moon is above Saturn and Jupiter. On the 27th the Moon close to Saturn and Jupiter. On the 28th the moon is near Jupiter, then on the 29th the waning moon again forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn.

Labels: southern skywatch

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:48 pm 0 comments

The New Moon is Thursday, June 10. Apogee, when the Earth is furthest from the earth, is on June 8.

Evening sky on Saturday

Whole sky at 18:42 ACST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, June 5 as seen from 

Evening twilight sky on Saturday June 5 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:39 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is low above the horizon.

 

Evening sky at 18:10 ACST (60 minutes after sunset), on Saturday June 5 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. 

 

Mars is a low above the horizon forming a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor.

 

 

 

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time 

 

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:51 pm 0 comments