2017 Week 22: (May 28-June 3)

June is coming up really fast and with it the Summer Solstice.  There are a few conjunctions happening next week that will be interesting to check out.  The list of astronomical events for Week 22 is shown below.

Date	Event
May 31	Regulus 0.3°N of Moon
June 1	First Quarter
June 2	Venus 1.8°S of Uranus
June 3	Venus greatest elongation West
June 3	Jupiter 2°S of Moon

The month ends with Regulus hanging out right on top of the Moon.  This will be a great sight for the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.  The next evening the Moon will be at its first quarter phase and great for finding interesting craters along the terminator.  I hope the clouds will stay away so I can capture some craters!  If you are a morning person Venus will be less than two degrees from Uranus.  This may be visible in a set of binoculars or a wide field telescope.  A map of the region is shown below.  As you can see they barely fit into my 8" telescope with a Panoptic 41mm eyepiece.

Venus and Uranus

Venus will be at its greatest elongation West on Saturday.  Also, if you add some power you will be able to see it at half phase.  The week finishes off with the Moon skipping below Jupiter in the southern sky.

If you are a Mars fan, I'm sorry but it will be tucking in behind the Sun for awhile.  It reaches superior conjunction on July 26.  It will become visible again nearer the end of September in the early morning prior to sunrise.  The good news is next year on July 27 it will be at opposition very close to Earth.  However, it will be low on the ecliptic and the big fat Full Moon will be cruising very close to the red planet.  Since it will be low on the ecliptic viewing it will be hindered by poorer seeing than if it were higher overhead.  I am hoping that it will be good enough to grab some images of the features on the planet, including Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in our solar system.

Jupiter and Saturn will make for a great display throughout next week and into June.  Jupiter will appear in the South and Saturn will follow it up several hours later in the South East.

Uranus is still swimming around Pisces and Neptune is having fun tempering the water being pour out of Aquarius.  Good luck finding them.  Your best bet for Uranus is matching it up with Venus close to the June 2 conjunction.

Have fun observing the sky this upcoming week and keep your eyes peeled for exciting astronomy activities we host or volunteer at!  Join the group at www.facebook.com/simonjastronomy to stay informed!