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June 2014 Night Sky
As Summer arrives we need to wait later for truly dark skies, but balmier
weather means that cold Winter nights are far behind us. 21st June marks the
Summer Solstice for us in the Northern Hemisphere, so the Sun will be in its
highest position in the sky and we will enjoy the most hours of daylight.
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Constellation of the month: Ursa Major
Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, is a circumpolar constellation meaning that it’s visible to us at all
times of the year. Its seven brightest stars have a few different nicknames, such as the Plough, the
Big Dipper, and the Saucepan. Maybe you know some others? According to legend, Ursa Major
was once a beautiful maiden who was turned into a bear by the jealous goddess Hera. Nasty!
Finding Ursa Major
Draco
Boötes
Image credit: Stellarium
Ursa Major is high in the western sky by
around 11pm. If it’s dark and you have a
clear horizon you’ll be able to see it. The
brightest seven stars are fairly easy to see
even in very light polluted city skies.
Ursa Minor
Mizar and Alcor
Camelopardalis
Canes Venatici
Look out for…
Leo Minor
Lynx
The star in the bent handle of the Saucepan
is called Mizar. In the night sky look right
next to it to see a dimmer star called Alcor.
In ancient times these two stars were used
as an eyesight test. If you could see faint
Alcor next to brighter Mizar, your eyes were
said to be in good condition.
There are quite a few galaxies within this
constellation, although you’ll need to use
binoculars or a small telescope to see them.
Scan the area, looking for faint grey misty
patches. Try to count how many you find.
News flash: New Mars Lander approved
Construction will soon begin on a new Mars mission called Interior
Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat
Transport, or InSight for short. Due to launch in March 2016, the
Lander will pierce beneath the Martian surface to study its interior.
The InSight mission is led by NASA, but instruments are being
developed all over the world, including in the UK.
An artist’s impression of the Lander InSight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltec.
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The planets in June as visible to the naked eye
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
appears too close to the Sun to be safely observed.
rises in the east just before dawn.
can be spotted in the south-west.
may be glimpsed low in the west right after sunset.
shines brightly in the southern sky.
Theme of the month: The Sun
With the arrival of Summer we hope to see much more of the Sun, our local
star. People often say that the Sun is made of gas, but it’s more accurate to
describe it as plasma, which is like a super-heated gas. The stars we see in
the night sky are also made of plasma, and they’re a lot like our Sun. The
difference is that our Sun is closer to us than other stars, making it appear
bigger and brighter. During the daytime stars are still in the sky, but the Sun
is so bright that it drowns their light out. This is why we only see stars at
night when the Sun has dipped below the horizon and the sky is dark.
The Sun is so bright that you should never
look directly at it, but the picture on the
left, taken by a space telescope, shows it
close-up. It’s quite an active star and
sometimes plumes of material shoot out
and zoom into space. These can interfere
with electronics and occasionally damage
satellites. The happy news is that Earth’s
magnetic field is good at keeping us safe!
Special telescopes allow us to take incredible
photos of the Sun. Image credit: NASA.
The Sun is a fascinating place, so on the
next sunny day why not spend some time
thinking about the amazing science of our
local star.
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Moon calendar
5 June
First Quarter
13 June
Full Moon
19 June
Last Quarter
27 June
New Moon
Would you like to know more?
Zooniverse is a collection of projects that lets you help professional astronomers and maybe make a real
Image credit:
Shuttle Crew andtoNASA.
discovery.
VisitSTS-119
www.zooniverse.org
get started.
Stellarium is a planetarium program for your computer, showing a realistic 3D sky just as you would see if
looking with your eyes or a telescope. Best of all, it’s completely free. Download it at www.stellarium.org
Heavens Above is a website for you to create customised sky maps and see when satellites like the
International Space Station and Iridium flares will be visible. Try it at www.heavens-above.com
Smartphone apps for astronomy are excellent ways to help you navigate the night sky.
Google Sky Map for Android and Planets for iPhones are free apps to start you off in the right direction.
The Bristol Astronomical Society is a group of local stargazers who are always keen to help beginners.
Find out more via www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk
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