THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street  Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249   www.usm.maine.edu/southworth-planetarium
43.67° N 70.27° W
Founded January 1970
2022-2023: C
Sunrise: 5:00 a.m.
Sunset: 8:21 p.m.
Civil twilight begins: 4:24 a.m.
Civil twilight ends: 8:56 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Taurus the Bull
Lunar phase: Waning gibbous (75% illuminated)
Moon rise: 12:43 a.m. (6/9/2023)
Moon set: 10:57 a.m. (6/9/2023)
Julian date: 2460104.29
                 “Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations
are those you set upon yourself.”
*― Roy T. Bennett*

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Thursday, June 8, 2023
June 2023 Night Sky Calendar  Part III:  Stars

*A FRAGMENT OF THE ZODIAC*
Whenever one ventures outside to observe the night sky, one can see a
fragment of the zodiac extending from somewhere along the eastern horizon
to somewhere along the western horizon. The positions change throughout the
night.   The *Zodiac *refers to the thirteen constellations through which
the Sun appears to move throughout the year as a consequence of Earth's
revolutionary motion around the Sun.      Even if we didn't enjoy the
benefit of clocks, calendars and the wide assortment of hyper-intelligent
phones that will tell us the time, date, weather and all the ways that
hyperbolic geometry deviates from Euclidean flat-space, we could still keep
track of time simply by watching the sky and noting its changes.

For instance, the Sun is currently 'moving through' Taurus the Bull.
 Consequently, we won't be able to observe this ferocious beast until it
returns to the early morning sky in August.     However, we can still see
the adjacent zodiac constellation Gemini the Twins, which begins the night
low in western sky.

[image: Gemini_constellation_map.svg.png]
*[image credit:  Sky and Telescope]*

The Sun appears to pass through Gemini from June 22 - July 20th.   Within
the next week, the westernmost stars, such as Eta, Mu and Gamma Geminorum
will vanish into the dusk.  The easternmost Gemini stars Castor and Pollux
will follow soon thereafter.    Gemini will emerge into the pre-dawn sky by
early September.

Just east of Gemini one finds Cancer the Crab, the one zodiac constellation
that certainly doesn't resemble its namesake.

[image: Cancer-Beehive-Cluster-e1647180650947.jpg]
* [Image credit:  Earthsky.org]*

Associated with the crab that Heracles squashed with his heel while the
latter was fighting Hydra, Cancer marks the Sun's position during  late
July to  early August.    Praesepe, or the Beehive Star Cluster, marks the
Sun's precise position on August 1st.   Cancer dissolves into the dusk by
mid July, only to return to the pre-dawn sky in late September.

Cancer leads us naturally to Leo the Lion, another animal that Heracles
slew during the performance  of his twelve labors.   Unlike its western
neighbor Cancer, Leo does bear a resemblance to the creature it is
supposed to represent.

[image: Leo-the-Lion-1.jpg]
*[Image credit:  Earthsky.org]*

When observing this constellation  one can almost see the resting lion.
Its sickle represents its head and mane while the triangle forms its
hindquarters.   The Sun appears to travel through Leo between mid August
and mid September.      Leo's sickle will vanish by early  August and its
tail follows within a week.   The lion is destined  to  return to the
pre-dawn eastern sky by late October.

Finally we can see Virgo the maiden over in the eastern sky.   Identified
with Persphone, the beautiful daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest,
Virgo is the longest of all the zodiac constellations.  The Sun passes
through Virgo  from mid September to the end of October. Virgo is out of
sight throughout November and slowly ascends into the pre-dawn sky by mid
to late December.

[image: virgo-constellation_Tatyana-Vyc_Shutterstock.jpg]
*[Image credit:  Opticsmag.com]*


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