Podcaster: Rob Webb
Title: Last Minute Astronomer June 2024
Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School
Link: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ;
https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ;
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrWebbPV
https://sites.google.com/site/pvplanetarium/home
follow me : @MrWebbPV on Twitter ; @lastminuteastronomer on Facebook and Instagram
Don’t forget this podcast is found on my Podbean page, Stitcher, and iTunes. There’s also a video version on my YouTube Channel and I can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @mrwebbpv. The Pequea Valley Planetarium and its events and updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
Description: June brings us the quote “Parade of Planets”…well, sort of…Listen up as I discuss which planets are visible, which aren’t, and when the Moon will pass by them.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: Rob Leeson, David Bowes, Brett Duane, Benett Bolek, Mary Ann, Frank Frankovic, Michael Freedman, Kim Hay, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Rani Bush, Jako Danar, Joseph J. Biernat, Nik Whitehead, Michael W, Cherry Wood, Steve Nerlich, Steven Kluth, James K Wood, Katrina Ince, Phyllis Foster, Don Swartwout, Barbara Geier, Steven Jansen, Donald Immerwahr
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Transcript:
I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.
This month, I’m recording on the go! I’m traveling and recording on a different laptop than normal, with a microphone from 2012, and less than 6 hours of sleep each night this week. I’ll treat this as a…learning opportunity…
As usual, we’ll start by talking about where the naked eye planets are this month, move on to the lunar phases, and finish up with a calendar of events, so you can plan ahead better than me.
June brings us the quote “Parade of Planets”…well, sort of…Listen up as I discuss which planets are visible, which aren’t, and when the Moon will pass by them.
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset – None
Throughout the night – None
Morning
Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn – Quite the parade of planets in the mornings of June. Mars and Saturn are easily visible every morning in June, with Mars around 25° above the Eastern horizon and Saturn about 40° above the SE horizon. They start June about 35° apart, but Saturn moves to the right about 20° more by month’s end. Closer to the Sun is a dance between Mercury and Jupiter. On June 1st, they are both very close to the Sun, so I doubt you’ll be able to spot either of them, though you could try if you have a very flat and clear view of the ENE horizon before sunrise. On June 4th they are only about 1/10th of one degree apart, but also only 12° from the Sun, making them very hard to find. After that, Mercury heads back closer to the Sun, and Jupiter moves slowly away from the Sun and up into the morning sky. By month’s end, Jupiter will be about 15° above the ENE horizon, right next to the V of Taurus the Bull.
EVENTS
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 6th (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 21st (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 28th (Visible midnight into the morning)
LUNAR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
So the Moon will be traveling across the sky as normal, passing by some planets at particular times.
June 1st – Waning Crescent Moon is between Saturn and Mars
June 2nd – Just 6° to the right of Mars
June 3rd – 7° to the left of Mars
June 4th – Right in between Mars and Jupiter
June 5th – a VERY thin crescent Moon is about 4° above Jupiter and Mercury, and below the Pleiades. Good luck finding it!
June 27th – 4° to the right of Saturn
June 28th – 30th – in between Saturn and Mars
21st – Summer Solstice – This is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s a bit of explanation as to why here.
And that’s the sky for this month. If you find this advance notice of the night sky helpful, please support this work by finding Last Minute Astronomer on Patreon, and don’t forget to follow Last Minute Astronomer on Facebook and Instagram. Till next month, I’m the Last Minute Astronomer wishing you fruitful plans and clear skies. Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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