2018 Week 26: (June 24-June 30)

This week will be the first whole week after the Summer solstice and it marks the halfway point of 2018!  Wednesday night offers an an amazing array of things to see in the sky!

Date	Event
June 27	Vesta 0.3°S of Moon
June 27	Saturn at Opposition
June 27	Saturn 1.8°S of Moon
June 27	Full Moon
June 28	Mars Stationary
June 30	Mars 5°S of Moon

The big news for the week is Saturn will reach opposition.  This means its position will be exactly opposite the Sun to us here on Earth.  We will be able to see Saturn at its biggest and brightest!  It will mean the chance of attempting to get a better picture of the big ringed planet.  Unfortunately Saturn still resides at a low declination so it will be distorted greatly by the atmosphere.  If we were to live in Australia we could see Saturn directly overhead.  It won't be in northern declinations until 2026!

Saturn

There is an unfortunate timing regarding Saturn's opposition this year.  The Moon will be full and less than 2° from the planet.  This will certainly interfere with observation as it will appear in the same wide field of view of most telescopes.  It will probably be best to wait a day or two for serious observing.

Mars will be stationary and begin its retrograde motion as it progresses westward against the background stars. Two days later we will be able to see the red planet hanging out with the Moon within a binocular field of view.

The Summer Triangle is moving into position overhead where it will sit throughout the season.

There is one scheduled rocket launch this week of the Falcon 9 which will be delivering cargo to the International Space Station.  Unfortunately it is scheduled for quarter to four in the morning so many people in Calgary will not want to watch it live!

Date	Event
June 29	Falcon 9 (CRS 15) 03:41

There are some great things happening in July especially with Mars.  Also the chain of double shadow transits on Jupiter will begin at the end of next month.

If you want to see any of the planets through a telescope send me a message and we can arrange something!

2018 Week 25: (June 17-June 23)

The first day of Summer occurs this week and we have a lot of great things happening in the sky!

Date	Event
June 18	Regulus 1.7°S of Moon
June 19	Neptune Stationary
June 19	Vesta at Opposition
June 19	Venus 0.4°N of Beehive Cluster (M44)
June 20	First Quarter
June 21	Solstice
June 21	Jupiter 4°S of Moon

The Moon is back in the western sky at sunset for all those who have a normal bedtime to see!  It will be in conjunction with the heart of the lion, Regulus, on Monday.

Neptune will begin its annual retrograde motion as it will move westward across the sky compared to the background stars.  Astrologers seem to indicate that it will bring greater tranquility to our lives; if only that is true!

The asteroid Vesta will reach opposition on June 19.  You may actually be able to see this with the naked eye from a dark sight as it reaches magnitude 5.3.  You can try to find it from the city as it is hanging out a few binocular fields away from Saturn.

Map to Vesta

If you attempt to find it with a telescope try sketching the region each night.  You should see the asteroid move quickly against the background stars.

If you would like an even more incredible sight put Venus into your binoculars.  It will essentially be part of the Beehive Cluster.  The weather seems to indicate clear skies throughout the week.  Find a place where you can see the western horizon and binocular Venus.  You will see an incredible crowd of stars hanging out with the Roman goddess of Love.

Venus and M44

Continuing our action packed week the Moon will reach First Quarter and will make a lovely sight to all who peer upon with with their eyes or optical aid.

Nearly 24 hours after first quarter it will be Summer.  The Solstice occurs at 4:07am on June 21.  You will go to bed in Spring and wake up to Summer.  Astronomers can rejoice because the sky will be darker for longer after this date!

To cap off this exiting week the Moon will be in conjunction with the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter.  It would be wise to get out soon to see Jupiter through a telescope as it is quickly moving toward the evening sunset.

There are a couple rocket launches scheduled for next week if you would like to check them out.

Date	Event
June 20	Long March 3B, Beidou
June 22	Electron, It's Business Time (20:30-00:30)

Two satellites for a Chinese navigation system will launch on June 20 at a time yet to be determined.  A couple days later several satellites will be launched from the North Island of New Zealand.  I have never seen a launch from this facility and hope to catch it on (https://spaceflightnow.com/) Friday night.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is being created as an alternative to the US owned GPS with a claimed accuracy to the millimeter.  Beidou is the name of the Big Dipper in China.  The Big Dipper asterism is commonly used to find(navigate to) the North Star, Polaris; thus the origin of the name of this system.

As mentioned above the weather is supposed to be quite clear this week.  It will be well worth your time to get outside and look up to the sky.  There are some bright constellations above and Virgo, Libra and Scorpius traipse across the southern sky!

2018 Week 24: (June 10-June 16)

The Moon is a waning crescent for the first half of the week as it approaches a New Moon.  This will mark the end of Ramadan for Muslims throughout the world and Eid al-Fitr celebrations will begin as the Sun sets on June 14th.

Date	Event
June 13	New Moon
June 16	Venus 2°N of Moon
June 16	Moon 1.5°S of Beehive Cluster (M44)

As the Moon progresses into its next cycle look for it in conjunction with Venus on Saturday.  At the same time, look for the Beehive Cluster in between the two objects.  The map below highlights this great Saturday evening.

Moon/M44/Venus Conjunction

Venus should be obvious in the northwestern sky.  All you need to do is point binoculars at it and slowly pan towards the Moon.  You will go right through the Beehive Cluster.  Unfortunately it is in the constellation of Cancer which is quite dim and difficult to see from the city.

There are two launches scheduled for this upcoming week.  The Japanese Government is launching an information gathering satellite on the 10th.  Six days later NASA is scheduled to launch an ionosphere monitoring satellite from the Marshall Islands.  Information for these events are shown below and as always can be viewed live from (https://spaceflightnow.com/).

Date	Event
June 10	H-2A IGS Radar 6 (22:00-24:00)
June 16	Pegasus XL ICON (08:01-08:38)

I will reiterate this every week that Mars is approaching its best opposition in 15 years on July 26 and will be at closest approach on July 31.  This week it rises just before 01:00 and will be visible across the southern sky all night.  Its magnitude is -1.5 and has a diameter of 17".  With a telescope you may be able to see surface features on the red planet.

I found a Mars profiling plugin hosted by Sky and Telescope that shows which side of Mars is currently facing the Earth.  In conjunction with detailed maps this is a good resource to identify significant regions on Mars.  A link to this plugin is found below.

http://wwwcdn.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/plugins/observing-tools/mars_profiler/mars.html

It is interesting to note that Mount Olympus will be in the middle of the view on the closest approach day: July 31, 2018!

Saturn rises at 22:45 and can be seen in the southern sky throughout the evening.  A steady hand with binoculars will show it is certainly not round and a telescope will show the beautiful rings.

The weather this week seems to indicate average temperatures with some rain early and late in the week.  If there is a clear evening be sure to get outside and look at the sky!

2018 Week 23: (June 3-June 9)

This week is quiet in the sky but there are a few things to check out.  The chart below highlights these events.

Date	Event
June 3	Mars 3°S of Moon
June 4	Falcon 9 Launch (SES 12 Communications Satellite) 22:29 MDT
June 5	Mercury in Superior Conjunction
June 6	Last Quarter

We can turn to the Red Planet of Mars to see it near the Moon on Sunday.  The Earth is catching up to Mars in its orbit and soon we will be right next to it late in July.  It will be the brightest it has been seen from Earth since 2003.  It will be a great time to check it out with a telescope as you may be able to see some great surface features.

The Falcon 9 launch that was scheduled last week has been moved to Monday evening.  It will be a great thing to check out before going to bed that night.  Mercury will be in superior conjunction with the Sun which means it will be at the same right ascension as the Sun on the opposite side in its orbit compared to Earth.

Later in the week the Moon will be at Last Quarter.  This will be a great time to find some deep-sky objects in the early evening as the Moon will not be polluting the sky with its light.

Last Quarter

The Summer Triangle is making its way into our sky as it comes up earlier every evening.  Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila will be overhead as we approach the Summer Solstice!

If you like staying up a little later in the evening you should have a chance to see Saturn make its way across the southern sky.  A quick view through a telescope will showcase the amazing rings!

The weather is forecast to have average temperatures and clear skies!  Let's hope that stays true!  The concern now will be bugs; be sure not to use your bug spray around any optical equipment!