Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday June 3rd and 4th, written by Joe Slomka
This is the Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday June 3rd and 4th, written by Joe Slomka.
The Sun sets at 8:29 PM; night falls at 10:42. Dawn begins at 3:06 AM and ends with Sunrise at 5:18.
The Moon resides in northwestern Aries on both nights. Monday’s 26-day-old Moon rises at 3:10 AM and sets at 5:32 PM. Tuesday’s Moon rises at 3:37 AM, by 5 AM it is 13° high, 32 arc-minutes in size and 6% illuminated and sets at 6:51 PM. Wednesday’s Moon rises at 4:11 AM.
The scarcity of visible evening planets continues. Comets continue to fill the gap. 13P/Obers still shines in northwestern Auriga, with 8th magnitude, 97% lit, 30° high at 9 PM and sets at 11:41 PM. Comet/2023 A3 is found in southern Virgo, glowing with 10th magnitude, 95% lit, highest at 8 PM, 48° high and sets at 2:18 AM.
The variable star Algol will be at minimum at 11:28 PM on Monday.
Saturn remains the first visible planet, rising in southeastern Aquarius at 1:51 AM, shining with 1st magnitude, 17 arc-seconds in size and by 5 AM it is 31° high. Pisces contains both Neptune and Mars. Southern Neptune, 11° behind Saturn, rises at 2:12 AM, 8th magnitude, 2 arc-seconds and 30° high. Eastern Mars, 27° in Neptune’s wake, rises at 3:09 AM, 1st magnitude, 5 arc-seconds, 92% lit, and 20° high. Eastern Taurus shares Uranus, Mercury and Jupiter. Uranus, 28° after Mars , rises at 4:21 AM, 5th magnitude, 3 arc-seconds, fully lit and 7° high. Mercury, 15° behind Uranus, rises at 4:43 AM, glares with minus 1st magnitude, 5 arc-seconds, 88% lit, and 3° high. Finally, Jupiter peeks over the horizon, rising at 4:47 AM, blazing with minus 2nd magnitude, 32 arc-seconds, 2° high and 100% lit. Note that Uranus, Mercury and Jupiter are very close to the rising Sun and may require binoculars; the observer should also take care not to accidently see the Sun without proper solar filters. Venus is not visible because it hides behind the Sun. All planets set during daytime.
If you follow the “arc” of the Big Dipper’s handle, you come to the bright star Arcturus. Arcturus is the sixth brightest star and one of the nearest, only 37 light-years away. Arcturus is a giant, about 25 times larger than our Sun. Astronomers have known, for some time, that Arcturus is rapidly approaching our solar system. Several thousand years from now, Arcturus will brighten, loom larger, speed past us and then disappear into space. A new theory thinks that Arcturus, and other stars, are actually part of a small galaxy that our own Milky Way gobbled up in the recent past.
Clear Skies Joe Slomka