{"id":44659,"date":"2023-05-17T14:50:48","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T14:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=44659"},"modified":"2023-05-30T12:14:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T12:14:06","slug":"june-highlights-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2023\/05\/17\/june-highlights-2\/","title":{"rendered":"June highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your guide to the night sky this month <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
All month <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

June and July are the best months for spotting elusive noctilucent clouds. <\/p>\n\n

2 Friday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Compromised by twilight, mag. +1.6 Mars passes in front of the Beehive Cluster, M44, this evening.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

3 Saturday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

The mag. +1.0 red supergiant Antares (Alpha (\u03b1) Scorpii) appears one apparent lunar diameter south of the full Moon\u2019s southern limb at 23:15 BST (22:15 UT).<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
4 Sunday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation, appearing separated from the Sun by 45.4\u00b0 in the evening sky.<\/p>\n\n

5 Monday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A look at the northeast limb of the Moon this morning should show the parallel line clair-obscur effect known as the Zeno Steps, near crater Zeno.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
6 Tuesday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

There\u2019s a great opportunity this and tomorrow morning to spot our Moonwatch target<\/a>, the crater Gutenberg. Also look out for it on the evening of 22 June. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
8 Thursday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

As the Moon moves out of the way, this is a great time to try our Deep-Sky Tour<\/a>. This month, we\u2019re hunting bright summer planetary nebulae.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

13 Tuesday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Venus is north of the Beehive Cluster, M44, this evening. The best chance to see the pairing is just before Venus sets.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

14 Wednesday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A 15%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 0.6\u00b0 to the north of Jupiter in the early hours. See whether you can observe the planet using binoculars after the Sun has risen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

16 Friday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Minor planet 20 Massalia reaches opposition at 10th magnitude in Ophiuchus.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
17 Saturday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

The earliest sunrise of 2023 occurs today, when the Sun rises at 04:38 BST (03:38 UT) (time from the centre of the UK), just a few seconds earlier than on the surrounding days.<\/p>\n\n

18 Sunday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Although there\u2019s not much real darkness at this time of year, bright patterns such as the Summer Triangle asterism stand out very well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

21 Wednesday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Today at 15:58 BST (14:58 UT) is the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s summer solstice, the point at which the Sun reaches its most northerly position in the sky.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
22 Thursday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Today a 16%-lit waxing crescent Moon rises around 09:00 BST (08:00 UT), 4.2\u00b0 from mag. \u20134.3 Venus. Mars is also 3.4\u00b0 south of the crescent Moon.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
23 Friday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Can you make out the shape of the Teapot asterism, low above the southern horizon around 01:40 BST (00:40 UT)? <\/p>\n\n

30 Friday<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Mag.\u20134.3 Venus is 3.6\u00b0 from mag. +1.7 Mars, low on the west-northwest horizon shortly after sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

A 91%-lit waxing gibbous Moon is 5\u00b0 west of Antares (Alpha (\u03b1) Scorpii) this evening.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
Family stargazing <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that time of year when the night times shrink to a minimum, making it tricky for youngsters to do much astronomy. One fun project is to keep a look out for noctilucent (night-shining) clouds. These may be seen low above the northwest horizon 90\u2013120 minutes after sunset or a similar time before sunrise, low above the northeast horizon. They appear to glow against the deep twilight and often have a delicate, net-like appearance. Although not ideal in terms of timing, they are easy to observe without any equipment. www.bbc.co.uk\/cbeebies\/shows\/stargazing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

NEED TO<\/strong> KNOW<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide<\/p>\n\n

Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)<\/strong>
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT<\/p>\n\n

RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)<\/strong>
These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019<\/p>\n\n

Naked eye<\/strong>
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted<\/p>\n\n

Photo opp<\/strong>
Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR<\/p>\n\n

Binoculars<\/strong>
10×50 recommended<\/p>\n\n

Small\/medium scope<\/strong>
Reflector\/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches<\/p>\n\n

Large scope<\/strong>
Reflector\/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
GETTING STARTED<\/strong> IN ASTRONOMY<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re new to astronomy, you\u2019ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit bit.ly\/10_easylessons<\/a> <\/strong>for our 10-step guide to getting started and bit.ly\/buy_scope<\/a> <\/strong>for advice on choosing a scope<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

PHOTOS: PETE LAWRENCE X 6, M57: CHRISTOPH KALTSEIS\/CCDGUIDE.COM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your guide to the night sky this month <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":44651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"44","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"44","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_44-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_44-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2023","purple_external_id":"June-2023-44-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2023-44-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086565||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086565||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.217","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.217","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.217","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.217","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb.jpg",1063,1115,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb-286x300.jpg",286,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb-768x806.jpg",768,806,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb-976x1024.jpg",800,839,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb.jpg",1063,1115,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/05\/5c38ce6f-77cb-4bcd-b423-c020648180eb.jpg",1063,1115,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Your guide to the night sky this month","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44659"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47118,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659\/revisions\/47118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}