June 2024 – What’s Up!

Week of 24th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • The planets are aligning for the early risers; in the hour before sunrise, which is at around 04:50 BST this week, you will find Saturn (mag +1.1) about 20° east of the Waning Gibbous Moon, followed by Neptune (+7.9), Mars (+1.0), Uranus (+5.8) and Jupiter (-2.0).
  • As the Milky Way rises higher in our evening sky, search the Cygnus region for a wealth of interesting objects including: double star Albireo (+3.1), open cluster M29 (+6.6) and globular cluster M56 (+8.3).
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Friday.
  • The Sun currently has 7 active regions and the sunspot number is 139.
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week.
    (For full details about ISS passes click this link: heavens-above-iss-passes to visit the heavens-above website. If you are not in Marlborough, please ensure that you set your location for the most accurate ISS timings).

 

Week of 17th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • The June Solstice, or Summer Solstice for us in the Northern Hemisphere, is on Thursday. This is the point where the Sun reaches its maximum declination of +23.5°, placing it at its highest point in the sky for us, at about 62.5° altitude at local noon on the 20th. Normally the Solstice is associated with the 21st June, but this year is a leap year, so it is brought forward to the 20th, happening at exactly 21:49 BST. Happy Solstice!
  • Active region AR 3712, currently on the face of the Sun, is growing rapidly and is increasingly active. Use a solar filter to observe this feature.
  • The Moon is Full on Saturday – the Strawberry Moon.
  • The Sun currently has 7 active regions and the sunspot number is 134.
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week.
    (For full details about ISS passes click this link: heavens-above-iss-passes to visit the heavens-above website. If you are not in Marlborough, please ensure that you set your location for the most accurate ISS timings).

 

Week of 10th June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • Keep an eye on the Blaze Star, T Coronae Borealis, just to the east of the familiar arc asterism of the constellation Corona Borealis. It is currently magnitude +10, so not visible to the naked eye, but as a recurring nova, it is due to brighten to about magnitude +3 sometime soon, and will become an easily visible new feature in the constellation.
  • Another phenomenon to keep checking for is the presence of noctilucent clouds. They appear high in the atmosphere about an hour or two after sunset in the north and are a spectacular layer of pearlescent night glowing cloud.
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Friday.
  • The Sun currently has 9 active regions and the sunspot number is 143.
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week.
    (For full details about ISS passes click this link: heavens-above-iss-passes to visit the heavens-above website. If you are not in Marlborough, please ensure that you set your location for the most accurate ISS timings).

 

Week of 3rd June

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • Solar observing is perfect at this time of year and with a very active Sun, there is plenty to see. There are currently 9 active regions that make wonderful viewing in white light and hydrogen alpha. There are also multiple prominences around the limb, only visible in hydrogen alpha. Take great care if observing the Sun and only do so with suitable solar filters.
  • The darkness of New Moon makes this week a good time to hunt some faint deep sky objects, though you will have to be observing at around midnight to 2 am. Three targets to search for are: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, (mag +7.9) at 28 million light years away in Canes Venatici, M13, the Great Hercules Cluster, (+5.8) at 23 thousand light years away in Hercules, and M57, the Ring Nebula (+8.8) at 1400 light years away in Lyra. Happy hunting!
  • The Moon is New on Thursday.
  • The Sun currently has 9 active regions and the sunspot number is 194.
  • There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week.
    (For full details about ISS passes click this link: heavens-above-iss-passes to visit the heavens-above website. If you are not in Marlborough, please ensure that you set your location for the most accurate ISS timings).

 

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