Download JUNE - Carnegie Science Center

summer
2016
JUNE
3
Fri
Saturn at opposition (Look east in pm)
4
Sat
New Moon – 7 am
5
Sun
Mercury at greatest western elongation (Look east at dawn)
11
Sat
Jupiter 2 degrees to right of Moon (Look west in pm)
12
Sun
First Quarter Moon – 4:09 am
14
Tue
Spica 4 degrees south of Moon (Look southwest in pm)
18
Sat
Saturn 2 degrees lower right of Moon (Look south in pm)
20
Mon
Full Moon “Strawberry Moon” – 7:02 am
Summer Solstice – 6:34 pm
27
Mon
Last Quarter Moon – 2:19 pm
30
Thu
Mars 18 degrees to right of Saturn (Look south in pm)
1
Fri
Aldebaran 8 degrees south of Moon (Look east at dawn)
4
Mon
New Moon – 7 am
4
Mon
Earth at Aphelion (farthest from the Sun, about 94,512,904 miles)
9
Sat
Jupiter 4 degrees north of Moon (Look west in pm)
11
Mon
First Quarter Moon – 8:51 pm
14
Thu
Mars 7 degrees south of Moon (Look southwest in pm)
15
Fri
Saturn 2 degrees south of Moon (Look south in pm)
19
Tue
Full Moon “Buck Moon” – 6:56 pm
26
Tue
Last Quarter Moon – 6:59 pm
28
Thu
Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower (Overnight until dawn on July 29)
31
Sun
Mars 10 degrees to right of Saturn (Look southwest in pm)
JULY
AUGUST
2
Tue
New Moon – 4:44 pm
8
Mon Aldebaran 7 degrees below Moon (Look east in am)
10
Wed
First Quarter Moon – 2:20 pm
11
Thu
Mars 6 degrees south of Moon (Look southwest in pm)
Perseid Meteor Shower (Overnight until dawn on August 12)
16
Tue
Mercury at greatest eastern elongation (Look west at dusk)
18
Thu
Full Moon “Sturgeon Moon” – 5:26 am
20
Sat
Mercury 4 degrees below Jupiter (Look low in the west at dusk)
21
Sun
Mars 5 degrees south of Saturn (Look southwest in pm)
27
Sat
Venus and Jupiter conjunction (Look west at dusk)
31
Wed
Mars 5 degrees to left of Saturn (Look southwest in the pm)
Join stargazers rain or shine on select Fridays and Saturday nights May – August!
$4 for non-members / $2 for members and as an add-on to general admission or Omnimax show
For dates and details visit CarnegieScienceCenter.org/planetarium
CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER One Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA | 412.237.3400 | CarnegieScienceCenter.org
Summer Planet Visibilities
June
July
August
Evening:
Saturn and Mars (S-SE), and Jupiter (W-SW)
Midnight:
Saturn and Mars (S), and Jupiter (W)
Morning:
No morning planet visibilities this month.
Evening:
Saturn and Mars (S), Jupiter (W),
Venus and Mercury (dusk-W – late month)
Midnight:
Saturn (S-SW) and Mars (SW)
Morning:
No morning planet visibilities this month.
Evening:
Saturn and Mars (S-SW), Jupiter (W),
Venus and Mercury (dusk-W)
Midnight:
Saturn and Mars (S-SW)
Morning:
No morning planet visibilities this month.
Venus and Jupiter Conjunction
The Perseid Meteor Shower
One of the year’s best celestial displays will occur at the end of August
when Venus and Jupiter come together for a stunning close encounter
in the evening sky. On Aug. 27, the sky’s brightest and second brightest
planets will appear extremely close to each other, 30 minutes after sunset,
and just 5 degrees above the western horizon. One clenched fist held out
toward the horizon equals about 10 degrees. Distinctly brighter Venus will
be shining at a dazzling -3.9 magnitude, while Jupiter will be sparkling at
-1.6 magnitude. The Jovian giant will sit within a fraction of a degree to the
left of our sister planet. Our two bright “evening stars” are headed in
opposite directions this summer. After reigning in the evening sky since
March, Jupiter will drop below the western horizon in September and return
to the morning sky in October. Venus is just returning to the evening sky
after being a bright beacon in the morning since last autumn.
The Perseid meteor shower comes every year, beginning in late July
and stretching into August. Stargazers outdoors at the right time can
see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts, and almost always long
hours of gracefully streaking meteors.
Don’t Miss Mars and Saturn
June will be a good month for viewing Mars and Saturn. Because the
Red Planet went into opposition at the end of May, Mars will still be a
brilliant target for stargazers in June. The weeks around opposition are
an ideal time to observe a planet, because they will appear brighter
when they are at their closest point to the Earth. Saturn goes into
opposition shortly after Mars on June 3. Because Saturn’s rings are
angled almost wide open, it will shine at its brightest in over a decade.
Look for Saturn and Mars 90 minutes after sunset in the southern sky
in mid-June. Pale-yellow Saturn will be located about 6 degrees above
Scorpius’ brightest star Antares. Mars will sit about 18 degrees to
the right of Saturn in Libra. Mars will start to close in on Saturn at the
beginning of July when it resumes its direct west-to-east motion. The
Red Planet will then catch up to Saturn on August 23 when it forms an
eye-catching vertical alignment over the southwestern horizon with
Scorpius’ bright red star Antares.
If you look at the sky long enough on any clear night, you can see a
meteor. However, at certain times of the year we are treated to a shower
of “shooting stars.” The showers result from a cloud of particles in orbit
around the Sun left over from a passing comet. The Perseid meteor
shower comes from Comet Swift-Tuttle. When the earth passes through
this cloud of particles in its yearly trip around the sun, tiny bits of comet
dust hit Earth’s atmosphere traveling at about 132,000 mph. At that
speed, even a tiny dust particle will make a vivid streak of light — a
meteor — when it disintegrates.
Among the many nights of the shower, one night is always the best for
viewing. This year, peak activity will occur from about 11 pm on Aug.
11 through dawn on Aug. 12. Maximum activity with exceptional skies
during the Perseids is normally about 50 or 60 “shooting stars” per hour.
Optimal viewing this year will be after the waxing gibbous moon sets
at 1 am.
The best way to view the Perseids is to lie down on your favorite lawn
chair and look towards the northeast. Keep in mind, you should observe
the Perseid meteor shower (or any meteor shower for that matter)
someplace dark, away from the bright lights of the city. The less light
visible, the more brilliant the meteor shower will be.
astronomical fact:
After a five-year flight to Jupiter, the Juno spacecraft will conduct an in-depth study of the gas giant planet when it reaches orbit on July 4.
NASA’s most distant solar-powered explorer will give scientists a better understanding of the formation, evolution, and structure of Jupiter.
Juno’s three solar panels, the largest on any spacecraft, contain 19,000 advanced solar cells.