Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Sky This Week - Thursday July 2 to Thursday July 9
The Full Moon is Sunday, July 5. Four bright planets are visible in the morning skies. Venus is in the head of Taurus the Bull. Jupiter and Saturn are now rising well before midnight and visible in the evening. The full Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn n the 5th and 6th. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars.
The Full Moon is Sunday, July 5. The Earth is at aphelion on the 4th, when it is furthest from the Sun.
Evening astronomical twilight at 18:41 ACST on Saturday, July 4 (90 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars above Hydrae (Alphard) making it very easy to spot. It is at it's brightest (around magnitude 6) at this time, but the nearly full Moon may make it more difficult to see.
For comet spotters charts see here.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 21:00 ACST on Sunday, July 5 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are high above the Eastern horizon. The Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 21:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, July 4 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:17 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Crescent Venus is close to the Hyades cluster (the head of Taurus the Bull). The inset show the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, July 4 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:17 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise).
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull).
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be readily seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week. The Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn on the 5th
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies. The Moon forms a line with Saturn and Jupiter on the 6th.
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 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/
The Full Moon is Sunday, July 5. The Earth is at aphelion on the 4th, when it is furthest from the Sun.
For comet spotters charts see here.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 21:00 ACST on Sunday, July 5 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are high above the Eastern horizon. The Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn.The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 21:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, July 4 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:17 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull).
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be readily seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week. The Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Saturn on the 5th
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies. The Moon forms a line with Saturn and Jupiter on the 6th.
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 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/
Monday, June 22, 2020
Sky This Week - Thursday June 25 to Thursday July 2
The First Quarter Moon is Sunday, June 28. Mercury is lost in the twilight. Four bright planets are visible in the morning skies. Venus is in the head of Taurus the Bull. Jupiter and Saturn are now rising well before midnight and visible in the evening. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars and is brightest on the 27th.
The First Quarter Moon is Sunday, June 28. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 30th.
Evening astronomical twilight at 18:44 ACST on Saturday, June 27 (90 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars above Hydrae (Alphard) making it very easy to spot. It is at it's brightest (around magnitude 6) at this time, but the waxing Moon may make it more difficult to see.
For comet spotters charts see here.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 22:00 ACST on Saturday, June 27 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are high above the Eastern horizon.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 22:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, June 27 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:24 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Crescent Venus is close to the Hyades cluster (the head of Taurus the Bull). The inset show the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, June 27 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:23 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise).
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull).
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be readily seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies.
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 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/
The First Quarter Moon is Sunday, June 28. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 30th.
For comet spotters charts see here.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 22:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull).
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be readily seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies.
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 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
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Live streams of the Annular eclipse of Sunday, June 21, 2020
Sunday, June 21 is not only the winter Solstice, but also when an annular eclipse of the sun occurs.
In an annular eclipse, the Moon does not fully cover the Sun's dsk leaving a thin rim of sun at maximum eclipse. These so called :ring of Fire Eclipses can be very dramatic especially if caught as the sun is rising or setting.
The eclipse path travels though Asia, the Arabian peninsula and Africa. Asutalia misses out except for DArwin, which sees a tiny chip out of the edge of the Sun just on sunset.
Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, there will be fewer expeditions and few live streams of this event, whoever this Universe Today article links to a couple.
Gianluca Masi and the Virtual Telescope Project will be doing a live webcast of the "ring of fire" eclipse from across Asia and Africa starting at 5:30 UT (15:30 AEST, 15:00 ACST).
Another is from Indian Astronomer Ajay Talwar starting at 5:00 UT (15:00 AEST. 14:30 ACST)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DnLP7e3XX0
So set your alarms and happy watching.
Labels: eclipse, live-stream, solar, webcast
Wold Record Light Pollution Monitoring Event, Sunday June 21, 2020
Sunday June 21 is the solstice, when the night is longest. It is also the night of the new Moon and time for a light pollution monitoring ebent.
The event is an attempt to set a world record for light pollution mapping put on by the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, details here
https://worldrecordlight.thinkific.com/pages/how-to
You will have to register and do a short lesson on magnitude estimation. The all you have to do is go out and look south on the night of the 21st and contribute to our understanding of light pollution and the creeping loss of our magnificent night skies. There may even be a nice ISS pass to enjoy as well.
Even if it is cloudy you can still add to the record. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
If you are not sure how to find south, Google maps or any street directory will show you south (or see the chart above, find the Southern Cross and you have found South).
Labels: citizen science, light pollution
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Another series of Bright ISS passes (18-24 June, 2020)
 |  |  |
| The ISS as seen from Sydney on the evening of Saturday 20 June at 18:24 AEST just before it enters Earth's shadow.. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen. | The ISS as seen from Adelaide on the evening of Monday 22 June at 17:59 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 Friday 19 April at 18:43 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 Saturday 20 June for Sydney. | All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Monday 22 June for Adelaide. | All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Friday 19 April for Perth. |
Over the next few days there are a series of bright ISS passes in the early evening. The outstanding passes are when the ISS passes over Sirius or the pointers, or very close to these bright stars.
The following tables are from data provided from Heavens Above.
Passes from Adelaide (ACST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 17 Jun | -1.3 | 18:37:29 | 10° | NNE | 18:38:02 | 12° | NE | 18:38:02 | 12° | NE | visible |
| 18 Jun | -1.4 | 19:24:12 | 10° | NW | 19:25:34 | 22° | NW | 19:25:34 | 22° | NW | visible |
| 19 Jun | -3.3 | 18:36:31 | 10° | NNW | 18:39:44 | 42° | NE | 18:40:02 | 41° | ENE | visible |
| 20 Jun | -2.2 | 17:49:13 | 10° | N | 17:51:57 | 23° | NE | 17:54:26 | 11° | ESE | visible |
| 20 Jun | -1.4 | 19:25:33 | 10° | W | 19:27:24 | 24° | WSW | 19:27:24 | 24° | WSW | visible |
| 21 Jun | -3.2 | 18:37:17 | 10° | WNW | 18:40:36 | 52° | SW | 18:41:42 | 35° | SSE | visible |
| 22 Jun | -3.7 | 17:49:16 | 10° | NW | 17:52:40 | 82° | NE | 17:55:56 | 11° | SE | visible |
| 22 Jun | -0.8 | 19:27:58 | 10° | WSW | 19:28:53 | 13° | SW | 19:28:53 | 13° | SW | visible |
| 23 Jun | -1.6 | 18:39:03 | 10° | W | 18:41:40 | 20° | SSW | 18:43:02 | 16° | S | visible |
| 24 Jun | -2.3 | 17:50:30 | 10° | W | 17:53:35 | 31° | SW | 17:56:41 | 10° | SSE | visible |
| 25 Jun | -0.9 | 18:42:37 | 10° | SSW | 18:42:57 | 10° | SSW | 18:43:18 | 10° | SSW | visible |
| 26 Jun | -1.2 | 17:52:46 | 10° | WSW | 17:54:42 | 14° | SSW | 17:56:39 | 10° | S | visible |
Passes from Brisbane (AEST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 17 Jun | -1.4 | 19:06:27 | 10° | WNW | 19:08:03 | 24° | WNW | 19:08:03 | 24° | WNW | visible |
| 18 Jun | -3.8 | 18:18:29 | 10° | NW | 18:21:51 | 76° | NE | 18:22:36 | 51° | ESE | visible |
| 19 Jun | -2.8 | 17:30:56 | 10° | NNW | 17:34:02 | 34° | NE | 17:37:05 | 11° | ESE | visible |
| 19 Jun | -0.9 | 19:08:45 | 10° | WSW | 19:10:02 | 14° | SW | 19:10:02 | 14° | SW | visible |
| 20 Jun | -2.0 | 18:19:54 | 10° | WNW | 18:22:50 | 27° | SW | 18:24:26 | 19° | S | visible |
| 21 Jun | -3.1 | 17:31:32 | 10° | WNW | 17:34:51 | 52° | SW | 17:38:12 | 10° | SSE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -1.2 | 17:33:41 | 10° | W | 17:35:53 | 16° | SW | 17:38:06 | 10° | S | visible |
Passes from Darwin (ACT)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 17 Jun | -1.7 | 05:15:53 | 27° | E | 05:15:53 | 27° | E | 05:18:05 | 10° | ENE | visible |
| 18 Jun | -2.1 | 06:03:32 | 20° | WNW | 06:03:47 | 20° | NW | 06:06:19 | 10° | N | visible |
| 18 Jun | -1.1 | 19:19:49 | 10° | W | 19:21:55 | 15° | SW | 19:24:00 | 10° | S | visible |
| 19 Jun | -1.3 | 05:18:11 | 18° | NNE | 05:18:11 | 18° | NNE | 05:19:11 | 10° | NNE | visibl |
Passes from Hobart (AEST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 19 Jun | -1.0 | 19:09:26 | 10° | NNW | 19:10:02 | 14° | NNW | 19:10:02 | 14° | NNW | visible |
| 20 Jun | -2.0 | 18:22:06 | 10° | N | 18:24:26 | 21° | NE | 18:24:26 | 21° | NE | visible |
| 21 Jun | -1.5 | 17:35:23 | 10° | NNE | 17:37:04 | 13° | NE | 17:38:45 | 10° | E | visible |
| 21 Jun | -1.7 | 19:09:58 | 10° | WNW | 19:11:42 | 28° | WNW | 19:11:42 | 28° | WNW | visible |
| 22 Jun | -3.6 | 18:22:07 | 10° | NW | 18:25:29 | 59° | NE | 18:25:56 | 53° | ENE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -2.8 | 17:34:29 | 10° | NNW | 17:37:37 | 35° | NE | 17:40:05 | 14° | ESE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -1.6 | 19:11:09 | 10° | W | 19:13:02 | 26° | WSW | 19:13:02 | 26° | WSW | visible |
| 24 Jun | -3.3 | 18:22:57 | 10° | WNW | 18:26:20 | 55° | SSW | 18:27:07 | 43° | SSE | visible |
| 25 Jun | -3.7 | 17:34:54 | 10° | WNW | 17:38:20 | 86° | SW | 17:41:09 | 15° | SE | visible |
| 25 Jun | -1.2 | 19:12:37 | 10° | WSW | 19:14:05 | 19° | SW | 19:14:05 | 19° | SW | visible |
| 26 Jun | -2.4 | 18:24:16 | 10° | W | 18:27:21 | 29° | SSW | 18:28:04 | 27° | S | visible |
Passes from Melbourne (AEST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 19 Jun | -2.3 | 19:07:57 | 10° | NW | 19:10:02 | 33° | NNW | 19:10:02 | 33° | NNW | visible |
| 20 Jun | -2.7 | 18:20:26 | 10° | NNW | 18:23:28 | 31° | NE | 18:24:26 | 26° | E | visible |
| 20 Jun | -0.2 | 19:57:13 | 10° | W | 19:57:23 | 11° | W | 19:57:23 | 11° | W | visible |
| 21 Jun | -1.8 | 17:33:21 | 10° | N | 17:35:41 | 18° | NE | 17:38:04 | 10° | E | visible |
| 21 Jun | -2.6 | 19:08:56 | 10° | WNW | 19:11:42 | 41° | WSW | 19:11:42 | 41° | WSW | visible |
| 22 Jun | -3.7 | 18:20:50 | 10° | NW | 18:24:15 | 79° | SW | 18:25:56 | 28° | SE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -3.4 | 17:32:59 | 10° | NW | 17:36:20 | 56° | NE | 17:39:42 | 10° | ESE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -1.5 | 19:10:42 | 10° | WSW | 19:13:02 | 20° | SW | 19:13:02 | 20° | SW | visible |
| 24 Jun | -2.2 | 18:22:10 | 10° | W | 18:25:13 | 29° | SSW | 18:27:07 | 18° | SSE | visible |
| 25 Jun | -2.9 | 17:33:51 | 10° | WNW | 17:37:09 | 46° | SW | 17:40:29 | 10° | SE | visible |
| 25 Jun | -0.9 | 19:13:12 | 10° | SW | 19:14:05 | 12° | SSW | 19:14:05 | 12° | SSW | visible |
| 26 Jun | -1.3 | 18:24:15 | 10° | WSW | 18:26:22 | 15° | SSW | 18:28:04 | 12° | S | visible |
Passes from Perth (AWST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 17 Jun | -1.9 | 18:39:01 | 10° | N | 18:41:01 | 18° | NE | 18:41:01 | 18° | NE | visible |
| 18 Jun | -1.7 | 19:26:45 | 10° | WNW | 19:28:32 | 28° | WNW | 19:28:32 | 28° | WNW | visible |
| 19 Jun | -3.8 | 18:38:50 | 10° | NW | 18:42:12 | 71° | NE | 18:43:00 | 47° | ESE | visible |
| 20 Jun | -2.8 | 17:51:16 | 10° | NNW | 17:54:21 | 34° | NE | 17:57:23 | 11° | ESE | visible |
| 20 Jun | -1.1 | 19:28:39 | 10° | W | 19:30:21 | 18° | SW | 19:30:21 | 18° | SW | visible |
| 21 Jun | -2.3 | 18:40:03 | 10° | WNW | 18:43:08 | 32° | SW | 18:44:39 | 22° | S | visible |
| 22 Jun | -3.3 | 17:51:48 | 10° | NW | 17:55:09 | 59° | SW | 17:58:33 | 10° | SE | visible |
| 23 Jun | -1.1 | 18:42:40 | 10° | WSW | 18:44:19 | 13° | SSW | 18:45:58 | 10° | S | visible |
| 24 Jun | -1.6 | 17:53:34 | 10° | W | 17:56:10 | 20° | SW | 17:58:46 | 10° | SSE | visible |
Passes from Sydney (AEST)
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 17 Jun | -1.0 | 19:07:22 | 10° | NNW | 19:08:03 | 15° | NNW | 19:08:03 | 15° | NNW | visible |
| 18 Jun | -2.5 | 18:19:57 | 10° | N | 18:22:36 | 27° | NE | 18:22:36 | 27° | NE | visible |
| 19 Jun | -1.7 | 17:33:06 | 10° | NNE | 17:35:08 | 15° | NE | 17:37:05 | 10° | E | visible |
| 19 Jun | -1.4 | 19:08:24 | 10° | WNW | 19:10:02 | 24° | W | 19:10:02 | 24° | W | visible |
| 20 Jun | -3.7 | 18:20:18 | 10° | NW | 18:23:42 | 78° | SW | 18:24:26 | 51° | SSE | visible |
| 21 Jun | -3.4 | 17:32:30 | 10° | NNW | 17:35:48 | 53° | NE | 17:38:45 | 13° | ESE | visible |
| 21 Jun | -0.9 | 19:10:32 | 10° | WSW | 19:11:42 | 15° | SW | 19:11:42 | 15° | SW | visible |
| 22 Jun | -1.9 | 18:21:49 | 10° | W | 18:24:42 | 25° | SW | 18:25:56 | 20° | S | visible |
| 23 Jun | -2.8 | 17:33:24 | 10° | WNW | 17:36:39 | 42° | SW | 17:39:57 | 10° | SSE | visible |
| 24 Jun | -1.0 | 18:24:40 | 10° | SW | 18:25:56 | 12° | SSW | 18:27:07 | 10° | S | visible |
| 25 Jun | -1.4 | 17:35:24 | 10° | WSW | 17:37:44 | 17° | SSW | 17:40:04 | 10° | SSE | visible |
When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use either Heavens Above or CalSky 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
Monday, June 15, 2020
Sky This Week - Thursday June 18 to Thursday June 25
The New Moon is Sunday June 21. Mercury is visible low in the twilight. On the 22nd the thin crescent Moon and Mercury are close. Four bright planets are visible in the morning skies. On the 19th the crescent Moon is near crescent Venus in the head of Taurus the Bull. Jupiter and Saturn are now rising before midnight and visible in the late evening. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars.
The New Moon is Sunday June 21.the Erath is at Solstice, where the day is shortest in the southern hemisphere, on the 21st
Evening civil twilight at 17:40 ACST on Monday, June 22 (30
minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Mercury is low
above the horizon just above the Moon. You will need a clear, level horizon to see the pair, and probably binoculars too.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening astronomical twilight at 18:43 ACST on Wednesday, June 23 (90 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Comet C/2016 U6 can be seen in binoculars almost on top of alpha Hydrae (Alphard) making it very easy to spot. For comet spotters charts see here.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 23:00 ACST on Saturday, June 20 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are high above the Eastern horizon.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 22:20 ACST (Jupiter, with Io coming out of occultation) and 23:00 ACST (Saturn).
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Friday, June 19 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:23 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Crescent Venus and and the crescent Moon are close. The inset show the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Venus is in the Hyades cluster, which forms the head of Taurus the Bull.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Friday, June 19 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:23 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise).
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. The Crescent Moon is close to Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is low in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is increasingly difficult to see. on the 22nd Mercury is low above the horizon just above the Moon. You will need a clear, level horizon to see the pair, and probably binoculars too.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull). on the 19th crescent Venus and the thin crescent Moon are close.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies.
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 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/
The New Moon is Sunday June 21.the Erath is at Solstice, where the day is shortest in the southern hemisphere, on the 21st
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 22:20 ACST (Jupiter, with Io coming out of occultation) and 23:00 ACST (Saturn).
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Venus is in the Hyades cluster, which forms the head of Taurus the Bull.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Friday, June 19 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:23 am ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. The Crescent Moon is close to Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is low in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is increasingly difficult to see. on the 22nd Mercury is low above the horizon just above the Moon. You will need a clear, level horizon to see the pair, and probably binoculars too.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies close to the Hyades (the head of Taurus the Bull) and bright red Aldebaran (the eye of the Bull). on the 19th crescent Venus and the thin crescent Moon are close.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the evening skies.
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 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
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Sky This Week - Thursday June 11 to Thursday June 18
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 13. Mercury is visible in the late twilight. From midweek four bright planets are visible in the morning skies as Venus enters the morning skies. On the 13th The Moon is near Mars. Jupiter and Saturn are now rising before midnight and visible in the late evening. Comet C/2016 U6 can be see in binoculars above Sirius.
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 13.the Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 15th.
Evening nautical twilight at 18:10 ACST on Saturday, June 13 (60 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Mercury is reasonably bright low above the horizon. Comet C/2016 U6 can be see in binoculars above Sirius. For comet spotters charts see here.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Mercury at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 23:00 ACST on Saturday, June 13 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are rising above the Eastern horizon.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 23:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, June 13 showing the northern sky as seen from Adelaide at 5:50 am ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). Mars and the last quarter Moon are close.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, June 13 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 6:55 am ACST (30 minutes before sunrise).
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is high in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is now visible up to 60 minutes after sunset.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky from mid week.
Venus returns to the morning skies low in the twilight.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is close to the Moon on the 13th.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the late evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the late evening skies.
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 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/
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 13.the Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 15th.
Evening nautical twilight at 18:10 ACST on Saturday, June 13 (60 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Mercury is reasonably bright low above the horizon. Comet C/2016 U6 can be see in binoculars above Sirius. For comet spotters charts see here.The inset shows the telescopic view of Mercury at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 23:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Four bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn Mars and Venus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Mercury is high in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is now visible up to 60 minutes after sunset.
Four bright planets grace the morning sky from mid week.
Venus returns to the morning skies low in the twilight.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is close to the Moon on the 13th.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the late evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the late evening skies.
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 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/
Friday, June 05, 2020
C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) binocular bright. June 6 to June 30
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| Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) as seen looking west from Adelaide at 6:41 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on Saturday June 6. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset. | Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) as seen looking west from Adelaide at 6:41 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on Saturday June 13. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset. |
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| Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) as seen looking west from Adelaide at 6:42 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on Saturday June 20. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset. | Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) as seen looking west from Adelaide at 6:43 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on Tuesday June 23. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset. |
Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) is unexpectedly bright, Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) is currently magnitude 6 (just visible to the unaided eye,) under dark sky conditions, and may reach magnitude 5.5 at its brightest.
Currently in the constellation Puppis it will move rapidly into Hydra then into Sextans. It is brightening and may peak at magnitude 5.5 from 20th to 30th June. From Australia the comet is visible in good conditions for some time.
A black and white spotters chart suitable for printing. Click to embiggen and print.Use with a red-light torch (or a standard torch with red cellophane over it) so as to not disturb your night vision.
Because the comet is a fuzzy dot it will be a bit harder to spot the equivalent brightness stars. Allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.
Unfortunately there are no prominent guide stars to help find it, but it remains within around a binocular fields of a line drawn between Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) and Alphard (alpha Hydrae). On the 23rd it is right on top of Alphard.
A black and white spotters chart suitable for printing. Click to embiggen and print. The large circles are the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Use with a red-light torch (or a standard torch with red cellophane over it) so as to not disturb your night vision.
MPEC one line ephemeris suitable for adding to astronomy programs such as Stellarium
CK19U060 2020 06 18.8225 0.914243 0.997884 329.6609 235.7058 61.0014 20200531 10.0 4.0 C/2019 U6 (Lemmon)
Labels: binocular, C/2019 U6, comet, unaided eye
Thursday, June 04, 2020
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, morning June 6, 2020.
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| Western horizon as seen from Sydney on June 6 at 5:25 am AEST. The eclipse is at its deepest. Click to embiggen | Western horizon as seen from Adelaide on June 6 at 4:55 am ACST. The eclipse is at its maximum extent. Click to embiggen | Western horizon as seen from Perth on June 6 at 3:25 am AWST. The eclipse is at its maximum extent. Click to embiggen |
This year sees three penumbral lunar eclipses, unfortunately, they are all very poor. On the morning Saturday, June 6 the second of these eclipses will occur. This is a relatively poor penumbral eclipse, but most of Australia gets to see mid-eclipse under fairly dark conditions. The subtle darkening of the Moon as it passes through Earth's shadow may be hard to distinguish (see here for January's better penumbral eclipse).
Unfortunately, like the January 11 eclipse the June 6 eclipse occurs in the early morning. Even though it is on a Saturday you may wish to stay in bed for this one.
However, the sky itself, with the line-up of Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars will be beautiful, along with the Milky Way. There may even be satellite or two and a meteor, so if you do get up the sky will not disappoint.
You don't need special filters or fancy equipment to watch the lunar eclipse, you just need your eyes and somewhere comfortable to sit and watch. Watching the faint outer shadow of earth creep across the Moons face is quite challenging, as the darkening is subtle. The Moon is very obvious to the west.
In a penumbral eclipse, the Moon only enters the outer part of Earth's shadow. This will results in a subtle darkening of the Moons southern half. Depending on how good your eyesight is, it could be reasonably visible, or only visible via photography.
A guide I wrote for the October 2014 lunar eclipse about taking photos of the eclipse is here.
On the East coast, the eclipse starts when the sky is quite dark at 3:43 am AEST and mid-eclipse is at 5:25 am, at astronomical twilight when the Moon is reasonably high. The eclipse finishes after Moon set.
In the central states, the eclipse starts at 2:36 am ACST and mid-eclipse begins well before astronomical twilight at 4:55 am ACST, the eclipse end occurs at dawn.
In WA, the eclipse starts with the Moon quite high,in the early morning and all of the eclipse is seen. The eclipse starts at 1:43 am AWST and mid-eclipse begins at 3:25 am AWST and the eclipse ends at 5:07 am.
The table below shows the time of the eclipse from Eastern, Central and Western Australia. For Eastern and Central Australia subtract an hour for non-daylight saving states. The early parts of the eclipse will be effectively invisible to the unaided eye. When around 2/3 of the Moons disk is immersed in the penumbra, then you will see an effect (around half an hour either side of maximum eclipse).
| Penumbral Eclipse Begins | Maximum Eclipse | Penumbral Eclipse Ends |
| 3:43 am AEST | 5:25 am AEST | after Moon set |
| 2:36 am ACST | 4:55 am ACST | After Dawn |
| 1:43 am AWST | 3:25 am AWST | 5:07 am AWST |
For other regions, see here for UT timings.
Tuesday, June 02, 2020
Sky This Week - Thursday June 4 to Thursday June 11
The Full Moon is Saturday June 6, there is a faint penumbral eclipse on the morning of the 6th. Mercury rises higher into the late twilight and is closest to the star Mebsuta on the 6th. Three bright planets are visible in the morning skies and are joined by the waning moon from the 8th-11th. Jupiter and Saturn are now rising before midnight and visible in the late evening. On the 8th The Moon is near Jupiter and on the 9th it is near Saturn. Comet C/2016 U6 can be see in binoculars above Sirius.
The Full Moon is Saturday June 6, there is a faint penumbral eclipse on the morning of the 6th.
Evening nautical twilight at 18:10 ACST on Saturday, June 6 (60 minutes after
sunset)
looking west as seen from Adelaide. Mercury is reasonably bright low above the horizon, and at its closest to the star epsilon geminorum, Mebsuta. Comet C/2016 U6 can be see in binoculars above Sirius.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Mercury at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 23:00 ACST on Monday, June 8 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are rising above the Eastern horizon with the Moon close to Jupiter.
The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 23:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, June 6 looking west as seen from Adelaide at 4:55 am ACST (penumbral eclipse maximum). A subtle darkening of the Moons south pole will be seen.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Thursday, June 11 showing the whole sky as seen from Adelaide at 5:50 am ACST (90 minutes before sunrise).
Three bright planets are visible high above the northern horizon with the waning Moon between Mars and Saturn. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Venus is lost in the twilight this week, and will return to the morning skies mid June.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is now visible up to 60 minutes after sunset.
Three bright planets grace the morning sky and are joined by the Moon from the 8th to the 11th.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the late evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week. On the 8th The Moon is near Jupiter.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the late evening skies. On the 9th the Moon is near Saturn
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 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/
The Full Moon is Saturday June 6, there is a faint penumbral eclipse on the morning of the 6th.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Mercury at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.
Evening sky at 23:00 ACST on Monday, June 8 facing east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter and Saturn are rising above the Eastern horizon with the Moon close to Jupiter.The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same scale at 23:00 ACST.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Similar views will bee seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time, click to embiggen.
Three bright planets are visible high above the northern horizon with the waning Moon between Mars and Saturn. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise) click to embiggen.
Venus is lost in the twilight this week, and will return to the morning skies mid June.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky in the twilight this week, and is now visible up to 60 minutes after sunset.
Three bright planets grace the morning sky and are joined by the Moon from the 8th to the 11th.
Mars is visible high in the morning sky to the north, east of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is lowering in the morning sky and now can be seen in the late evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn stay around a hand-span apart during the week. On the 8th The Moon is near Jupiter.
Saturn is also lowering in the morning sky near Jupiter drawing away from Mars. It too is now visible in the late evening skies. On the 9th the Moon is near Saturn
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 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
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