2018 Week 22: (May 27-June 2)

We have reached the first week of June and the weather has been fantastic.  The transparency and seeing was amazing last week and I was able to get some great observing in!  We have some lunar conjunctions with our local gas giants and a full Moon to brighten our sky.  The chart below highlights this upcoming week in the sky.

Date	Event
May 27	Jupiter 4°S of Moon
May 29	Full Moon
May 31	Saturn 1.6°S of Moon
May 31	Falcon 9 Launch (SES 12 Communications Satellite) 22:29 MDT

The other night I was awoken to one of my kids.  It was around 03:00 and I took the time to look outside at the sky.  Jupiter, Saturn and Mars formed a beautiful arc across the southern sky.  It was a wonder to behold.  I had not seen Mars so brilliant since its last opposition back in 2016.  It will still become larger and brighter as we approach opposition in late July.

Jupiter still continues to shine brightly in the southeastern sky as the Sun sets.  Saturn and Mars follow it up 4 and 6 hours later respectively.  You can still catch Venus in the northwestern sky at evening twilight.

Jupiter

The Spring constellations are out in full force and you can catch some favourites like: Virgo, Libra, Leo, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Hercules and Boötes!  If you have a pair of binoculars try to find the famous Hercules Cluster!

M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster

If you haven't watched a rocket launch live before it is certainly worth seeing.  Another Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for Thursday evening around 10:30.  If it isn't scrubbed before then tune into the following website to see it live!

https://spaceflightnow.com/

The weather forecast looks great for the first half of the week then it seems like it devolves into rain by the end.  It will be well worth your time to spend a quiet evening out under the stars on Monday or Tuesday!  Bring bug spray!