June 2011
After four weeks away in the USA it’s nice to be back in a place where you can actually see lots of stars.
As we encountered a fair bit of cloudy weather over there my opportunities for star gazing were limited but I did get a few chances to gaze up through famed Arizona desert skies and learn my way around some less familiar northern constellations.
I found it most interesting that I could not recognise many constellations such as Leo, Taurus and Canis Major because they appeared “upside down” to me.
Of course, I had to face south to see them and that meant they also appear in the “wrong” order. The weather here did not seem to improve while I was away but lately the cold nights are hinting of better things to come.
Astronomically, the major event of the period for us is a Total Eclipse of the Moon which occurs early in the morning on the 16th June.
In the Astronomy Year Book it is listed as 15th of June but this refers to the date it will happen in Universal time.
Look closely at the table on page 87.
You will see that Eastern Standard Time is listed 10 hours in advance of Universal Time.
The eclipse reaches totality for us at 5.22 am but is at its’ greatest at 6.13am, still 45 minutes until dawn!
Look for the setting Moon in the west. Another Total Eclipse of the Moon occurs in December and unusually no Total Solar Eclipse occurs anywhere in the world in this calendar year.
Sadly, 21st May was cloudy so it was not possible to view the eta-Aquarids meteor shower from where I am in Glenmurray Rd.
There is however, a small shower called the theta-Ophiuchids (pronounced “thay-tuh oh-fee-you-shids”) which peaks around the 10th of June.
A small part of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer is nestled between Scorpius and Sagittarius and it is considered by many to be the thirteenth constellation of the Zodiac.
As Ophiuchus holds the serpent around his body we find the constellations Serpens Cauda (the snake’s body), and Serpens Caput (the snake’s head) to east and west respectively.
As with Sagittarius, it is a wonderful area for globular clusters.
Any aperture from 80mm and up will reward you with wonderful views of M10 and M12 in Ophiuchus and M5 in Serpens Caput.
Page 56 of Sky and Tel’s Pocket Sky Atlas also offer M107, M9 and M14 in this constellation.
On especially clear nights make an effort to trace out some of the Barnard objects such as the Pipe Nebula.
Many of these clouds of dust obscure the stars near the centre of our galaxy.
For the planetary observers we are still graced by views of Saturn which dominates the evening sky. Saturn crosses the meridian (due north) around 7 pm and does not set until well after midnight.
The ring plane is narrow at the moment and will gradually open to its’ widest aspect by December.
The other gas giant, Jupiter, is rising around 3 am and is well placed high in the northeast before dawn.
If you can brave the cold and the early hour, the clear air and Jupiter’s large size (currently 37 seconds of arc) offer enormous amounts of detail.
At the time we go to press we are experiencing a number of very pretty conjunctions before dawn.
The mornings are very clear and a lot of fuss is being made in the national papers, many of which are having large photographs.
If you consult your Astronomy 2011 you will see the dates and configurations pictured as insets in the All Sky Views.
Mercury and Venus will quickly move away from the other two within the month so take the chances.
You need only be up about an hour before dawn and it is well worth it.
Clear Skies!