June 2011 Celestial Calendar & Observing Notes c/o Dave Mitsky

[Big Dipper]

June 2011 Celestial Calendar & Observing Notes courtesy of Dave Mitsky (calendar data also reproduced in our forum calendar).

All times, unless otherwise noted, are UT.

6/1 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 11:27; New Moon (lunation 1094) occurs at 21:03; a partial solar eclipse takes place in northeastern Asia, northern Alaska, northern and eastern Canada, Greenland, and Iceland, reaching maximum at 21:16

6/2 Mercury is 5 degrees south of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades) in Taurus at 7:00

6/3 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 5:55; the Moon is 1.7 degrees south of the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 13:00; Neptune is stationary, with retrograde (western) motion to begin, at 15:00

6/5 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 0:24

6/7 Mercury is at the ascending node today

6/8 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 13:30; Venus is 5 degrees south of M45 at 16:00; the Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to occur at 16:34

6/9 First Quarter Moon occurs at 2:11

6/10 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 9:26; Saturn is 8 degrees north of the Moon at 21:00

6/12 Mercury is at perihelion today; the Moon is at perigee, subtending 32'48" from a distance of 367,189 kilometers (228, 161 miles), at 1:41; a double Galilean satellite transit begins at 2:48

6/13 Mercury is in superior conjunction at 0:00

6/14 The earliest sunrise of 2011 occurs today; Saturn is stationary, with prograde or direct (eastern) motion to begin, at 5:00

6/15 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 16:08; Full Moon (known as the Flower, Rose or Strawberry Moon) occurs at 20:14; a total lunar eclipse takes place across most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, reaching maximum at 20:12

6/17 The earliest morning twilight of 2011 occurs today

6/18 Venus is 5 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 7:00

6/19 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 5:26; Mars is 4 degrees south of M45 at 20:00

6/21 Neptune is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 2:00; summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs at 17:16

6/22 Mercury is at its greatest heliocentric latitude north today; a double Galilean satellite transit begins at 18:46

6/23 Last Quarter Moon occurs at 11:48; Uranus is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 23:00

6/24 The latest evening twilight of 2011 occurs today; the Moon is at apogee, subtending 29'31" from a distance of 404,271 km (251,203 miles), at 4:12; the Purbach Cross or Lunar X, an X-shaped illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 17:32; asteroid 4 Vesta is stationary at 19:00

6/26 A double Galilean satellite transit begins at 8:04; Jupiter is 5 degrees south of the Moon at 9:00

6/27 Asteroid 43 Ariadne (magnitude 9.0) is at opposition at 17:00

6/28 The latest sunset of 2011 occurs today; Pluto (magnitude 14.0, size 0.1") is at opposition at 6:00; the Moon is 2.0 degrees south of M45 at 7:00; Mars is 1.7 degrees south of the Moon at 19:00; Mercury is 5 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 22:00

Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712), Charles Messier (1730-1817), and George Ellery Hale (1868-1938) were born this month.

The normally very minor Boötid meteor shower peaks on the night of June 27.

The Moon is 17.9 days old and is located in Taurus on June 1 at 0:00 UT. A total lunar eclipse, the 34th of Saros 130, is visible in its entirety from eastern Africa, the Middle East, central Asia, and western Australia on June 15. Totality begins at 19:22:30 UT and ends at 21:02:42 UT. The Moon is at its greatest northern declination of +23.4 degrees on June 2 and June 29 and its greatest southern declination of -23.4 degrees on June 15. Longitudinal libration is at a maximum of +5.4 degrees on June 17 and a minimum of -5.4 degrees on June 4 and -5.2 degrees on June 30. Latitudinal libration is at a maximum of +6.8 degrees on June 9 and a minimum of -6.9 degrees on June 22. Visit Extreme Lunar Crescent Data [L1095-1104] | Saber Does The Stars for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons. Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at Lunar Sunrise/Sunset Crater Rays

The Sun is located in Taurus on June 1. A partial solar eclipse, the 68th of Saros 118, takes place at high northern latitudes on the same day, reaching a maximum of 60% in northern Russia. The penumbral eclipse begins at 19:25:18 UT and ends at 23:06:56 UT. The Sun reaches its farthest position north for the year on June 21, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. There are 15 hours and one minute of daylight at latitude 40 degrees north.

Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on June 1: Mercury (magnitude -1.0, 5.5", 85% illuminated, 1.23 a.u., Taurus), Venus (magnitude -3.8, 10.6", 93% illuminated, 1.58 a.u., Aries), Mars (magnitude 1.3, 4.1", 98% illuminated, 2.28 a.u., Aries), Jupiter (magnitude -2.1, 34.8", 100% illuminated, 5.67 a.u., Pisces), Saturn (magnitude 0.8, 18.3", 100% illuminated, 9.08 a.u., Virgo), Uranus (magnitude 5.9, 3.5", 100% illuminated, 20.47 a.u., Pisces), Neptune (magnitude 7.9, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 29.83 a.u., Aquarius), and Pluto (magnitude 14.0, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 31.13 a.u., Sagittarius).

Mercury is in the northwest and Saturn is in the southwest in the evening sky. At midnight, Saturn is located in the southwest. Venus can be found in the northeast, Mars and Jupiter in the east, Uranus in the southeast, and Neptune is the south at dawn.

At midmonth, Mercury is visible during morning twilight, Venus sets at 11:00 p.m. EDT, Mars sets at 1:00 a.m. EDT, Jupiter rises at 2:00 a.m. EDT, and Saturn sets at 2:00 a.m. EDT for observers at latitude 40 degrees north.

Mercury is in superior conjunction with the Sun on June 13 but returns to the evening twilight by the end of June.

Venus is four degrees east of Mars as June begins. By the end of the month, the two planets are separated by 19 degrees.

Mars remains an unremarkable object in the eastern morning sky. It rises some two hours before the Sun at mid-month and passes four degrees south of the Pleiades on the evening of June 20.

Jupiter rises four hours before dawn by the end of June. Click on Transit Times of Jupiter's Great Red Spot - Planets - SkyandTelescope.com to determine transit times of the central meridian by the Great Red Spot. Data on the Galilean satellites is available at Jupiter's Moons Javascript Utility - Interactive Observing Tools - SkyandTelescope.com

Saturn is no more than 20 arc minutes from the third-magnitude binary star Gamma Virginis (Porrima) for the first three weeks of the month. On June 14, when Saturn is stationary, the planet and the star are only 16 arc minutes from each other. The tilt angle of Saturn’s rings is at a minimum of 7.3 degrees early in the month. Eighth-magnitude Titan is farthest east of the planet on June 16 and farthest west on June 8 and June 24. On the night of June 4, Titan and the tenth-magnitude moons Tethys, Rhea, and Dione are located within half a degree of each other and Titan is just one arc minute southwest of Saturn. For further information on Saturn’s satellites, browsehttp://skytonight.com/observing/objects/javascript/3308506.html

Uranus rises less than an hour and a half after Neptune. Both planets are high enough to observe before dawn breaks.

During June, Neptune is located no more than 24 arc minutes from the fifth-magnitude star 38 Aquarii. The eighth planet begins retrograde motion on June 3.

Pluto reaches opposition on June 28. At that time, the dwarf planet is located approximately one degree west of the fifth-magnitude open cluster M25. As Pluto moves slowly westward through Sagittarius, it approaches the ninth-magnitude star SAO161442 by month’s end. A finder chart is available in the July issue of Sky & Telescope.

Comet C/2009P1 (Garradd) shines at ninth magnitude as it travels northwestward along the border of Aquarius and Pisces. On the morning of June 21, the comet passes about one degree southwest of the sixth-magnitude star 1 Piscium.

Asteroid 4 Vesta heads southeastward through northeastern Capricornus this month. The 515-kilometer-wide minor planet increases in brightness from seventh to sixth magnitude. It’s located less than a degree to the east of the fourth-magnitude star Iota Capricorni on the first day of June.

A free star map for June can be downloaded at Skymaps.com - Publication Quality Sky Maps & Star Charts

EDIT: Added from Dave's monthly calendar 08/06/2011:

The eclipsing binary star Sheliak (Beta Lyrae), which ranges in brightness from magnitude 3.3 to magnitude 4.3, is at minima on June 7 at 1:24 UT and on June 20 at 0:01 UT.

Forty binary and multiple stars for June: Struve 1812, Kappa Bootis, Otto Struve 279, Iota Bootis, Struve 1825, Struve 1835, Pi Bootis, Epsilon Bootis, Struve 1889, 39 Bootis, Xi Bootis, Struve 1910, Delta Bootis, Mu Bootis (Bootes); Struve 1803 (Canes Venatici); Struve 1932, Struve 1964, Zeta Coronae Borealis, Struve 1973, Otto Struve 302 (Corona Borealis); Struve 1927, Struve 1984, Struve 2054, Eta Draconis, 17-16 Draconis, 17 Draconis (Draco); 54 Hydrae (Hydra); Struve 1919, 5 Serpentis, 6 Serpentis, Struve 1950, Delta Serpentis, Otto Struve 300, Beta Serpentis, Struve 1985 (Serpens Caput); Struve 1831 (Ursa Major); Pi-1 Ursae Minoris (Ursa Minor); Struve 1802, Struve 1833, Phi Virginis (Virgo)

Challenge binary star for June: Gamma Coronae Borealis

Notable carbon star for June: V Coronae Borealis

Fifty deep-sky objects for June: NGC 5466, NGC 5676, NGC 5689 (Bootes); M102 (NGC 5866), NGC 5678, NGC 5879, NGC 5905, NGC 5907, NGC 5908, NGC 5949, NGC 5963, NGC 5965, NGC 5982, NGC 5985, NGC 6015 (Draco); NGC 5694 (Hydra); NGC 5728, NGC 5791, NGC 5796, NGC 5812, NGC 5861, NGC 5878, NGC 5897 (Libra); M5, NGC 5921, NGC 5957, NGC 5962, NGC 5970, NGC 5984 (Serpens Caput); M101, NGC 5473, NGC 5474, NGC 5485, NGC 5585, NGC 5631 (Ursa Major); NGC 5566, NGC 5634, NGC 5701, NGC 5713, NGC 5746, NGC 5750, NGC 5775, NGC 5806, NGC 5813, NGC 5831, NGC 5838, NGC 5846, NGC 5850, NGC 5854, NGC 5864 (Virgo)

Top ten deep-sky objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, NGC 5907

Top five deep-sky binocular objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5466, NGC 5907

Challenge deep-sky object for June: Abell 2065

The objects listed above are located between 14:00 and 16:00 hours of right ascension.

[mdstuart]

Very detailed! What about adding a section on DSO..Perhaps your selection of the best globulars, galaxies etc visible this month...

Mark

[Big Dipper]

I agree about the amount of detail in Dave's calendar being pitched about the right level for most of us amateur astronomers. He does actually include lists of DSO's worth hunting down each month but I haven't usually include it believing that most of us under typical UK skies would be struggling to find many of them. Anyway, that's easily remedied (see under my yellow 'Edit' in my original post). I'll try to remember to include the whole of Dave's calendar notes in future months.

[S.A.M]

Great list Big Dipper! It gives me targets to look out for during the month when we have so little dark skies to view. Looking forward to the total lunar eclipse on the 15th.

Peter