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SKY HAPPENINGS

Moab UT (at City Hall)
38O34’ N Latitude 109O33’ W Longitude
4048 ft - 1234 m

The Sky for June 2014
By Faylene Roth

 

Sunrise-Sunset
For June 2014

DATE

SUNRISE

SUNSET

1

5:56am

8:37pm

2

5:55am

8:38pm

3

5:55am

8:38pm

4

5:55am

8:39pm

5

5:54am

8:39pm

6

5:54am

8:40pm

7

5:54am

8:41pm

8

5:54am

8:41pm

9

5:54am

8:42pm

10

5:54am

8:42pm

11

5:53am

8:43pm

12

5:53am

8:43pm

13

5:53am

8:43pm

14

5:53am

8:44pm

15

5:53am

8:44pm

16

5:53am

8:45pm

17

5:54am

8:45pm

18

5:54am

8:45pm

19

5:54am

8:45pm

20

5:54am

8:46pm

21

5:54am

8:46pm

22

5:54am

8:46pm

23

5:55am

8:46pm

24

5:55am

8:46pm

25

5:55am

8:46pm

26

5:56am

8:47pm

27

5:56am

8:47pm

28

5:56am

8:47pm

29

5:57am

8:47pm

30

5:57am

8:47pm

The Summer Triangle dominates the night sky from dusk until dawn. Look for Vega (Lyra) and Deneb (Cygnus)—the leading stars of the triangle—about 20 ̊ apart in the northeastern sky as twilight fades to night. Altair rises last—almost due east—near the celestial equator about 40 ̊ from Deneb.

Twilight extends the period of daylight in three stages at each end of the day. Morning twilight begins with astronomical twilight—about 1-1/2 hours (nearly 2 during summer months) before sunrise—as the eastern horizon brightens. Nautical twilight continues—as the overhead sky turns blue and color returns to the surrounding landscape—for another 30-40 minutes. The final stage—civil twilight—provides adequate light for most outdoor activities for the half hour before the sun crests the horizon. The opposite progression occurs after sunset.

SUMMER SOLSTICE
Summer officially begins in Moab at 4:41am on June 21 when the sun rises and sets 23.5◦ north of the equator. On this day at this time the full face of the northern hemisphere tilts directly towards the sun absorbing as much of the heat as the sun has to offer. The sun holds this position in the sky for several weeks around the solstice during which daylength and times of sunrise and sunset vary by less than a few minutes. As the Earth rounds the far end of its elliptical orbit around the sun, the direction of its tilt does not change. The Earth’s polar axis always points in the same direction. What does change—as the Earth continues its orbit around the sun—is the orientation of the Earth’s axis to the sun. By the time the Autumn Equinox arrives, the sun’s rays will strike the Earth perpendicular to the direction of its tilt.

MOON HAPPENINGS
June 5 –First Quarter Moon brightens western sky until after midnight.
June 12 – Full Moon occurs at 10:11pm and rises at 8:19pm.
June 19– Last Quarter Moon rises soon after midnight.
June 27 –New Moon occurs at 2:08am.
(The time of moonrise and moonset assumes a flat horizon. Actual time may vary.)

VISIBLE PLANETS
Jupiter – June begins with Jupiter above the western horizon courted by a waxing crescent moon on June 1 and 2. Jupiter—in Gemini directly below Pollux with Castor above—sets before midnight. By month’s end it sinks into the glare of the setting sun at evening twilight. (Magnitude -1.8)

Mars – Look for the red planet overhead in Virgo as twilight fades. Mars outshines the clear blue light of 1st magnitude Spica (Virgo) and appears closer to it each night. Both set on the western horizon a few hours after midnight. On the night of June 7 look for a waxing quarter moon 3◦ below Mars. (Magnitude -0.5)

Mercury – Mercury hovers below Jupiter—in Gemini—during the first week of June on the northwestern horizon during the early stages of evening twilight. Look for it below the waxing crescent moon on June 1 and 2. Binoculars help distinguish it in the solar glare. (Magnitude +1.0)

Saturn – Saturn presents the well-lit face of its rings towards Earth. Look for it in the middle of Libra high in the sky as twilight ends. It follows Mars across the sky by about 30 ̊ and sets about two hours after Mars. A waxing gibbous moon moves from Mars towards and beyond Saturn on the nights of June 8-10 (6◦ east on June 10). (Magnitude +1.0)

Venus – Venus presents itself on the northeastern horizon just as the sun bends its early light around the curvature of the Earth at astronomical twilight. A waning crescent moon joins Venus on the mornings of June 22-24 (5◦ on June 24). (Magnitude -3.9)

Note: Apparent magnitude values range from -4 to +6 for most planets and visible stars. The lower the value the brighter the object. A decrease of 1.0 magnitude is 2.5 times brighter.



Primary Sources: USGS; U.S. Naval Observatory; Your Sky at http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/
To find out when the space shuttle and International Space Station are visible from your location, go to: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html and click on Sighting Opportunities.

 

METEOR EVENTS
Shower


Peak
(May)
Range
(May)
Constellation Radiant Rate
(/Hr)
Details Conditions

Tau Herculids
3
1-30 Herculess 15 Overhead at midnight Moon sets near midnight
Arietids
7 1-30 Aries 30 Slow, long trains & fireballs Moon sets near 2:00am
Zeta Perseids
7 7 Perseus 15 Pre-dawn skies Moon sets near 2:00am
Draconids
30 30 Camelopardalis 10 High in northern sky near midnight No moon in night sky

Best time to view any meteor event is between midnight and morning twilight when the radiant is overhead
Trace the path of any meteor backwards through the sky to reach its radiant--the region of the sky from which meteors appear to originate.

 

MAJOR CONSTELLATIONS this MONTH


Overhead
Cassiopeia
Cepheus
Ursa Minor
Ursa Major
Boötes
Virgo
Libra

Eastward
Cygnus
Lyra
Aquila
Hercules
Ophiucus
Scorpius

Westward
Auriga
Gemini
Cancer
Canis Minor
Leo
Hydra
Crater
Corvus


Hold your hand at arm’s length to measure apparent distances in the sky. The width of the little finger approximates1.5̊. Middle, ring, and little finger touching represent about 5 ̊. The width of a fist is about 10 ̊. The fist with the thumb extended at a right angle equals 15 ̊. The hand stretched from thumb to little finger approximates 20 ̊-25 ̊. The diameter of both the full moon and the Sun spans only 0.5 ̊. Adjust for the size of your hand.

The star chart approximates the sky from astronomical twilight to midnight. As the night and month progresses, the constellations shift toward the northwest. The celestial equator is measured in hours (h). The ecliptic is measured in degrees

Note: Hold your hand at arm’s length to measure apparent distances in the sky. The width of the little finger approximates 1.5̊. Middle, ring, and little finger touching represent about 5̊. The width of a fist is about 10̊. The fist with the thumb extended at a right angle equals 15̊. The hand stretched from thumb to little finger approximates 20̊-25̊. The diameter of both the full moon and the sun spans only 0.5̊. Adjust for the size of your hand.

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