Stargazer

• Gazers delight in star season

Star Calendar

• May


• June


• July

Gazers delight in star season

By Arnold Medalen

Pleasant weather, clear skies and abundant stars make late spring and early summer evenings ideal for stargazing.

To the west, the Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor, sit 2 to 3 fist-widths above the horizon. Pollux, the brighter of the two, is on the left.

To the south, magnitude 1.3 Regulus in the constellation Leo sits 3½ fist-widths to Pollux’s upper left. More than 5 fist-widths to Regulus’ lower left is magnitude 1.2 Spica in the constellation Virgo, and 3½ fist-widths to Spica’s upper left is magnitude 0.2 Arcturus in the constellation Boötes. Far to the lower left, Scorpius begins to poke its head above the horizon in early June.

In the east you can see hundreds of dimmer stars between Arcturus in the southeast and magnitude 0.1 Vega low in the northeast. Depending on light pollution, you might see magnitude 2.3 Alphecca 2 fist-widths to Arcturus’ lower left in a straight line between Arcturus and Vega. Midway between Alphecca and Vega lies the constellation Hercules. You may need binoculars to make out the “keystone” of four stars that make up the body of this classic hero. With binoculars you should also have no trouble spotting the Great Hercules Cluster (M13) on the side of the keystone farthest from Vega.

Completing our celestial tour in the north brings us to Ursa Major, the Big Dipper. Follow the arc of the Big Dipper’s handle 3 fist-widths to Arcturus and the same distance to Spica: Arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica.

P/C Arnold Medalen, SN, of California’s Diablo Sail & Power Squadron, has been boating in the California Delta and San Francisco Bay since childhood. The stargazer first came to appreciate the night sky while boating in the Delta, far away from city lights. Today, he boats with his wife, Patricia, aboard Shelly C and serves on The Ensign Committee.

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May–July 2009

New moon

May

17 May
Jupiter is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s lower right low in the southeast just before dawn.

19 May
Low in the east before dawn, the moon lies between magnitude -2.4 Jupiter, 3 fist-widths to the upper right, and magnitude
-4.4 Venus, 2 fist-widths to the lower left. Magnitude 1.2 Mars is 3 finger-widths beyond Venus.

21 May
Venus and Mars are to the lower right of the waning crescent moon just before dawn.

27 May
You’ll find the Gemini Twins to the moon’s right after sunset.

30 May
High in the southwest tonight, you’ll find magnitude 1.3 Regulus 1 fist-width to the moon’s right and magnitude 0.9 Saturn 3 finger-widths to its upper left.

June

2 Jun
Spica is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s upper left tonight.

6 Jun
Separated by less than one-quarter finger-width, Antares and the moon rise in the east not long after sunset. The moon pulls away and is 1 finger-width to Antares’ left by midnight.

13 Jun
Jupiter is 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower left just before dawn. The equation of time is zero.

19 Jun
Low in the east just before dawn, Mars is less than 3 finger-widths to the moon’s lower right, and the much brighter Venus is 1 finger-width in a straight line beyond Mars.

20 Jun
The Pleiades Cluster is 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower left just before dawn. Mercury is 1 fist-width below the moon near the horizon.

21 Jun
The summer solstice occurs early this morning as the sun reaches its farthest point north of the celestial equator. This is the longest day and shortest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.

23 Jun
The moon is at perigee, 56.13 earth-radii away. Perigee is only 15 hours after the new moon, so we can expect tidal extremes.

26 Jun
Regulus is 4 finger-widths to the moon’s right low in the west tonight. Saturn is 1 fist-width to the upper left.

July

3 July
Earth is at aphelion, its greatest distance from the sun. It’s nearly 3.1 million miles farther from the sun than it was at perihelion on 4 Jan.

use binoculars

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