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!