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New Moon:
June 14
Full Moon:
June 30
CLUB INDOOR MEETING: Thursday, June 7 at 6:00pm.
STAR GAZE (June 15):
Sun: Sets at 8:45pm
Moon: (illuminated 3%) The Moon sets at 9:55pm.
Venus: Venus is high and very bright (mag -4.5)
in the west after sunset. As you look at Venus, realize that when you see it
in the evening sky it is heading toward us and will next pass between
the Earth and the Sun. (When you see Venus in the morning sky, it is heading
away from us and will next pass on the far side of the Sun.)
Jupiter & it's moons: Jupiter has risen by sunset
and culminates at 10:36pm, when it is only 22 degrees above the horizon. The
zodiac is very low in sky in the summer time, and the summer solstice is this
month, so Jupiter just does not get very high tonight.
There are no Jovian
moon transits or eclipses tonight.
Saturn & it's rings: Saturn will be 59 degrees
above the horizon 30 minutes after sunset and it sets at 2:18 Saturday morning.
Saturn culminates at 7:23pm. This planet reached opposition in February, so
the shadow of the planet on it's rings is not prominent, but possibly can still
be seen and giving a "3-D" effect.
The "star"
located about 3 ring-diameters away to the west is really the moon Titan. Other
fainter moons are visible closer to the planet on both the east and west sides.
Satellites: You can check for satellite passes by
going to "www.heavens-above.com"
and logging-on as registered user "Astro_Asheville" with password
"12345". There are several observing site to choose from. Choosing
the correct site is important only for seeing the Iridium flares.
There is a mag 0
Iridium flare that morning (Saturday June 16) at 4:10am. This mag value is as
seen from Mt. Pisgah.
DEEP SKY OBJECTS (DSO's)
(Not the biggest or brightest, but interesting):
1a. M10 & M12: Two easy-to-find globular clusters,
about magnitude 6.7. M10 forms a "T" with stars Delta, Zeta, &
Eta Ophiuchi. M12 is directly between Zeta & Kapa Ophiuchi, and about 40%
of the distance from Zeta to Kapa. Also, once you find M10, M12 is visible in
the same binocular FOV about 3 degrees to the northwest. (Hey, we don't need
no stinkin' "GoTo" telescope!) Both M10 & M12 are about the same
distance from us: 15,000 ly & 19,500 ly respectively. These two globular
clusters are about 10 times farther from us than the open clusters M6 &
M7 that we will observe next month in the July "Monthly Sky".
1b. NGC6356: This magnitude 8.2 globular cluster is 48,000 ly
away, far beyond the center of the galaxy, which is 28,000 ly away in the same
general direction. You are looking above the obscuring dust of the galaxy center
to see far beyond it. NGC6356 is so far away that you'll need a large (16"?)
telescope to resolve any of its stars. (Location: 17h 23.6m R.A.
-17 deg 49' Dec)
There are many globular clusters in Ophiuchus. Look at "The Big Picture" web page, map #3, and you'll see why.
2. Quasar 3C 273: The most distant object visible thru many amateur scopes, this is a quasar "near" to earth and appears brighter than all others. It has the brightness of 12,000,000,000,000 (12 trillion) suns and appears stellar thru an amateur scope. As you sit at the scope contemplate that the photons striking your retina and stimulating the electric charge to your brain were created in the accretion disk surrounding a gigantic black hole in the center of a large galaxy 2.4 billion light years away. The photons have been traveling thru space for over two billion years. Only the "lucky" photons have not struck a particle of dust or been absorbed by a molecule of hydrogen. Magnitude 12.8. Catch it early in the night while it's still high. Burnham's Celestial Handbook (1978) has an 8-page article, photographs, and a finder chart beginning on page 2100. This quasar is listed in the Hipparcos Catalog as HIP 60936. (Location: 12hr 29m 06.8s RA +02deg 03' 07" Dec, in Virgo)
3. Zeta Ursae Majoris (Double stars): The two stars in the crook of the Big Dipper's handle are Mizar & Alcor. They can be separated without using optical aid. These two stars share a common path thru space, but may not be in orbit around each other. Put a telescope to the brighter of the two, Mizar, and it is revealed to be a true double star: 14" separation; Magnitudes 2.3 & 4.0. The "secondary" star takes about 1,000 years to complete it's orbit around the "primary". Their distance from Earth is 70 light years & true separation is 200 a.u. (5x that of our sun and Pluto). (Location: 13h 23.9m R.A. 54 deg 56' Dec)
4. Barnard's Star: This magnitude 9.5 red dwarf star has the largest "proper motion" of any star, moving over 10 arc seconds per year relative to the other stars. It's only 6 ly away, making it the second closest star system. With only 17% of the Sun's mass, it is only 4/10,000th as bright, and appears a bit orange. It is a red dwarf star, probably twice as old as the Sun. Burnham's Celestial Handbook has finder charts on pages 1252 and 1253. The Night Sky Observer's Guide has a finder chart on page 301. Two descriptive links: Solstation and SEDS. Jerry Xiaojin Zhu's web page with a finder chart and photos. (Location: 17hr 57m 48s RA +04deg 41' 36" Dec in the year 2000, in Ophiuchus)
HIGHLIGHTS:
Asteroid Vesta: It is the brightest it has been in 18
years, and is now visible to the naked eye! In late May and early June it will
be mag 5.4, but by the end of June it will have faded to mag 6.0. Next year
Vesta will get only as bright as mag 6.4. Vesta is not the biggest asteroid,
but it is the brightest. This is because it reflects much more of it's light
than do most other asteroids. Here is a Sky&Telescope finder
chart (click on the horizon map for a more datailed star chart).
June 21: Summer solstice: the longest day of the year, and, to
our consternation, the shortest night.
June 30: Saturn and Venus are about 2/3 degree apart in the evening
sky. Venus will be 31 arc minutes in diameter, 36% lit and will still have a
slightly crescent shape. Saturn will be 17 arc minutes in diameter and will
be 100% lit. Low-power eye pieces will show them in the same field of
view. For example, they will fit in the field of view of an 8"
f10 telescope (2030mm FL) using a 30mm, 80 degree AFOV eye piece. Also, they
will both fit in the field of view of a 1054mm FL telescope using a 26mm, 52
degree eye piece. Venus will be 30 degrees above the horizon at sunset (8:48pm)
and will be 24 degrees above the horizon 30 minutes after sunset. Take a look
before the sky gets completely dark, before the two planets sink too close to
the horizon.
TERMS:
AFOV=apparent field of view / AU=Astronomical
Unit, the average distance from the Sun to the Earth / dec=declination / EP=eye
piece / FL=focal length / FOV=field of view / ISS=International Space Station
/ HST=Hubble Space Telescope / ly=light year / mag=magnitude / ra=right ascension
/ culminates=transits
the meridian=when an object as at its highest point in the sky / transit=passing
in front of another object / ZHR=zenithal hourly rate (basically, the most meteors
1 person could see in 1 hour under ideal conditions).
Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight
Time unless otherwise noted.
CLUB STARGAZE:
You can check the AstroAsheville
Yahoo group [or call Tim @ 251-0040 or John @ 251-1933 (before 5:00) or 667-9268
(after 5:00)] for a go/no-go decision and to verify location.
CLUB MEETING:
Indoor club meetings are usually the first Thursday of every
month, at 6 p.m. in the Sims
Group offices (230 Short Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC.)
Happy Starwatching! Dress Warm! Blue Ridge Parkway Information
Line is 828-298-0398
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(Much of the above info is derived from Sky & Telescope magazine, Ottewell's
Astronomical Calendar, The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Burnam's Celestial Handbook,
Megastar 5.0, Planets202, Cartes du Ciel, the ol' Miller Planesphere, and a little
(very little) common sense.)