BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The planets Venus and Mars will pass through the Beehive Cluster of stars in June. Binoculars will make the scene especially attractive.
First to appear will be Venus, high in the west-northwest soon after sunset on June 1. It will be a spectacular "evening star" for more than three hours, forming a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor in the constellation Gemini. Venus will cross into the constellation Cancer on June 3 and stand 10 degrees from Mars, which will be next to the Beehive Cluster.
Venus will approach the Beehive Cluster in the second week of the month, getting within 1 degree of these stars on June 12. Venus will continue to chase Mars, narrowing the gap between them to less than 4 degrees by month's end but not quite catching up.
Mars will be nestled among the stars of the Beehive Cluster on June 1 and 2. It will precede Venus across Cancer and move into the constellation Leo just after mid-month. Look for Mars early in the evening, soon after 9 p.m. local time. By the end of June, Mars will set an hour before midnight.
Saturn will rise at 1:30 local time on June 1, and it will be well above the eastern horizon by midnight on June 30, a fine target for any telescope. Located in the middle of the constellation Aquarius, it will be the brightest object between the Square of Pegasus and the bright star Fomalhaut. Saturn's rings will reach a minimum tilt for the year at 7 degrees this month. The planet's brightest moon, Titan, will be north of the planet on June 5 and 25 and south of it on June 13 and 29.
Jupiter will rise around 4 a.m. local time on June 1 and two hours earlier by month's end. Observing Jupiter will be a challenge early in the month because of its low altitude, but by June 30 it will be 30 degrees high in the east as morning twilight begins.
Mercury will rise less than an hour after Jupiter and stand 13 degrees east of the giant planet. Mercury will quickly disappear from view, getting too close to the sun for observation late in the month.
Solstice
The sun will reach the June solstice at 10:58 a.m. EDT on June 21, marking the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. For the next six months in the Northern Hemisphere the days will be getting shorter. The word "solstice" is derived from two Latin words that mean "the sun stands still." This is because the summer sun climbs to a higher point in the southern sky each day until the solstice. On the day of the solstice it appears to arrive at about the same maximum height above the horizon as the day before, and each day afterward its maximum point is lower as it drops back toward its lowest point at the December solstice. In this sense the sun "stands still" at the peak of its journey across the summer sky before it starts downward again toward the southern horizon.
Moon phases
The moon will be full on June 3, at last quarter on June 10, new on June 18, and at first quarter on June 26.
Author: Hal Kibbey Email: hkibbey [at] gmail.com
The College of Arts