THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249       www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street  Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N,                    70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
          "Past, present and future walked into a bar.  It was very tense."



THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
June 2016 Night Sky Calendar  Part I

One would think that in a Universe that is just crammed to the gills with an surfeit of space and a tremendous abundance of time one would just be able to extract extra time from the air whenever it was needed.    However, the cosmos isn't that sensibly designed and therefore time often runs short.    Consequently, we have to send the Night Sky Calendar in two installments: one today and the second will arrive tomorrow, unless, of course, we can figure out a clever way to send it yesterday.   


Summer begins on June 1st, according to the meteorologists and, just this once, we won't mind letting them be correct, even though astronomical summer won't start until June 20th.  After a winter that stuck around so long we wondered if it was waiting for a gratuity,  we are pleased to have summer start as soon as it wants to do so.   Regular subscribers will know how much we adore summer.  It is the best week of the year.  We pay homage to it by offering this June 2016 Night Sky Calendar.


FRIDAY, JUNE 3:  SATURN AT OPPOSITION!  (SILVER EVENT!!)
Today, Earth passes between the Sun and Saturn.    At this moment, Saturn is said to be at "opposition," meaning that it is opposite the Sun in our sky.   When at opposition, a superior planet (one that is farther from the Sun than Earth) is generally at its closest and brightest.            When at opposition, Saturn will be easiest to observe owing to its increased brightness and position.    One will be able to see Saturn all night!

FRIDAY, JUNE 3:  MOON 0.73 DEGREES SOUTH OF MERCURY  (BRONZE EVENT!)
The month is just beginning and we've already awarded a silver and bronze medal.   See Mercury and the thin, waning crescent moon within less than a degree of each other in the eastern, pre-dawn sky.    The moon will actually appear to occult Mercury from a limited region within the southern hemisphere.   Here, we'll merely see Hermes veering dangerously close to Diana.

SUNDAY, JUNE 5:  NEW MOON
Beginning of lunation cycle 1156.

SUNDAY, JUNE 5:  MERCURY AT GREATEST WESTERN ELONGATION
Mercury will appear 24.2 degrees west of the Sun in the early morning sky.    When an inferior planet (one closer to the Sun than Earth) is at greatest western elongation, one can observe it in the eastern pre-dawn sky.  When at greatest eastern elongation, the planet is visible in the western early evening sky.

MONDAY, JUNE 6:  VENUS AT SUPERIOR CONJUNCTION
There is nothing to see here, but we wanted to mention that Venus will be on the far side of the Sun relative to Earth, a position known as "superior conjunction."   Interestingly -well, to us, anyway- Venus will actually be "full" tonight because its entire illuminated side faces Earth.  Unfortunately, the Sun is in the way, which precludes us from observing it.  Venus, like Mercury, shows phases, just like the moon.       We will never see either planet in a "full phase," which can only occur during superior conjunction.

Tomorrow, the rest of the calendar...