Tuesday, June 03, 2014
The Sky This Week - Thursday June 5 to Thursday June 12
The First Quarter Moon is Friday June 6. Jupiter is low
in the early evening sky. Mercury is low in the evening sky below
Jupiter. Mars and Saturn are prominent in
the
evening sky. The Moon is close to Mars on June 7 and 8, and Saturn on
June 10. Venus is
prominent
in the morning sky.
The First Quarter Moon is Friday June 6.
Evening
sky on Saturday June 7 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 18:00
pm ACST in South Australia. Jupiter is above the north-western
horizon, Mercury is just above the horizon. Similar views will be seen elsewhere
at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
At 6:00 pm if you have a level horizon free of obstructions, you can see four bright planets strung out across the sky, Mercury just above the horizon, Jupiter above that, Mars high in the northern sky and Saturn rising in the west.
Mercury is low in the evening sky in the western twilight. This will be effectively the last week for a good view of the fleet planet before it disappears into the twilight.
Jupiter is low to the horizon when twilight ends. Jupiter sets around 19:45, telescopic observation is not really worthwhile now.
In the early evening Jupiter is above the north-western horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object above the western horizon in the early evening. In the early evening the sight of bright Jupiter sinking to the west, and bright Mars (still not as bright as Jupiter though) to the north and Saturn rising in the east is quite beautiful.
Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars.
Mars is easily seen in the northern evening sky. It is highest in the sky around 20:00. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest, on the 9th of April, and is still readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the northern evening horizon. Mars is in the constellation of Virgo near the brightish star Porrima, not far from the bright star Spica. Mars is still worthwhile looking at in a telescope now, although you will need a decent one to see any detail.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, and was at opposition on the 11th. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is high enough from around 10 pm for decent telescopic observation (see below). Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion and forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra, its apex pointing towards the head of the Scorpion.
Morning sky on Saturday June 7 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:30 am ACST. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at equivalent
local times. (click
to embiggen).
Venus is in the morning sky, above the north-eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the early morning sky for some time to come.
Venus was at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd of March, and is slowly sinking towards the horizon. Venus is a clear gibbous Moon shape in a telescope.
Evening
sky on Sunday June 8 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 19:00
pm
ACST in South Australia. The Moon is close to Mars.The inset shows the telescopic views of Saturn and Mars at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The bright asteroid 4 Vesta is visible in binoculars in the evening sky. While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Mars and Venus and Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.
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.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
The First Quarter Moon is Friday June 6.
At 6:00 pm if you have a level horizon free of obstructions, you can see four bright planets strung out across the sky, Mercury just above the horizon, Jupiter above that, Mars high in the northern sky and Saturn rising in the west.
Mercury is low in the evening sky in the western twilight. This will be effectively the last week for a good view of the fleet planet before it disappears into the twilight.
Jupiter is low to the horizon when twilight ends. Jupiter sets around 19:45, telescopic observation is not really worthwhile now.
In the early evening Jupiter is above the north-western horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object above the western horizon in the early evening. In the early evening the sight of bright Jupiter sinking to the west, and bright Mars (still not as bright as Jupiter though) to the north and Saturn rising in the east is quite beautiful.
Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars.
Mars is easily seen in the northern evening sky. It is highest in the sky around 20:00. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest, on the 9th of April, and is still readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the northern evening horizon. Mars is in the constellation of Virgo near the brightish star Porrima, not far from the bright star Spica. Mars is still worthwhile looking at in a telescope now, although you will need a decent one to see any detail.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, and was at opposition on the 11th. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is high enough from around 10 pm for decent telescopic observation (see below). Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion and forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra, its apex pointing towards the head of the Scorpion.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the north-eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the early morning sky for some time to come.
Venus was at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd of March, and is slowly sinking towards the horizon. Venus is a clear gibbous Moon shape in a telescope.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The bright asteroid 4 Vesta is visible in binoculars in the evening sky. While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Mars and Venus and Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.
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.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: weekly sky
# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:06 pm 
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