astro News

Friday, June 22
First-quarter Moon (exact at 9:15 a.m. EDT).
Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's
central meridian around 9:24 p.m. EDT.

Saturday, June 23
The star twinkling to the upper left of the Moon
tonight is Spica. Very high above them shines
brighter Arcturus.
In a telescope, Saturn's big moon Titan can be
spotted three or four ring-lengths to Saturn's
east this evening and tomorrow evening.

Sunday, June 24
Spica now shines to the right of the Moon.
The red long-period variable star RS Scorpii should
be at maximum brightness (7th magnitude) this week.
Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:02 p.m. EDT.

Monday, June 25
After dark this week, the Big Dipper hangs by its
handle nearly straight down in the northwest, while
the (dim) Little Dipper floats nearly straight up
from Polaris in the north.

Tuesday, June 26
Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:40 a.m.
Wednesday morning EDT; 9:40 p.m. Tuesday evening PDT.

Wednesday, June 27
Tonight the big bright gibbous Moon hangs out with
the Jupiter-Antares couple.

Thursday, June 28
This evening the Moon is below or lower left of
Jupiter and Antares.



This Week's Planet Roundup

Mercury is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

Venus (magnitude -4.5, at the Cancer-Leo border)
is the brilliant "Evening Star" in the west
during twilight. Watch fainter Saturn closing
in on it each day! See "Saturn" below.

Mars (magnitude +0.8, crossing from Pisces
into Aries) is gradually getting higher in
the eastern sky before dawn. In a telescope,
it's still just a tiny blob 6 arcseconds wide.

Jupiter (magnitude -2.5, in southern Ophiuchus)
was at opposition on June 5th. It glares in the
southeast at dusk and dominates the south by 11 p.m.
dst. Antares, less bright, sparkles 6° to Jupiter's
lower right. These two will be evening companions
all summer.

Saturn (magnitude +0.6, in Leo) is in the west
during evening, closing in on dazzling Venus
from the upper left. The gap between them shrinks
from 6° on the 22nd to just 0.7° at their
conjunction on the 30th!

Regulus, less bright at magnitude +1.4, is 8°
to Saturn's upper left. And look north (upper
right) of Regulus by 8° for 2nd-magnitude Algieba
(Gamma Leonis).

Uranus (magnitude 5.8, in Aquarius) and Neptune
(magnitude 7.9, in Capricornus) are well up in
the southeast and south, respectively, before
the first light of dawn.

Pluto (magnitude 13.9, in the northwestern corner
of Sagittarius) is not far from Jupiter in the
south in late evening


The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
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