New --------------- 1st 04:09 to 21:20
1st Quarter ----- 9th 13:39 to 01:00
Full --------------- 15th 21:28 to 04:00
Last Quarter --- 23rd 00:20 to 13:27
There will be a Partial Solar Eclipse at sunset on the 1st of June, as seen from Doncaster, just, or nearly, depending on whether your cup is half full or half empty.
First contact is at 10:15pm and the Sun sets at 10:22pm! Maximum of about 40% is at 11pm, so help from Robin Hood might be required.
There will also be a Total Lunar eclipse this month, on the 15th, as the Moon is rising in the south east. It will already be Total as it rises at about 9:30pm, with the Earth's Umbra starting to come off it from 10pm and finally leaving it at 11pm. The Penumbra will leave the Moon at midnight. It will be very low of course and very far south too, so the Moon will not rise much above 12° above the horizon that night.
Planets
Jupiter will be visible in the east just before dawn on the 1st, about 3:30am and should be easy enough because of its brightness. As the month progresses it’ll get easier, rising by the end of the month at 1:45am, a good 2 hours before the Sun, but still not really high enough for much in the way of detail will be seen, though the moons will be easy.
Uranus and Neptune will be rising before Jupiter, Neptune first, so will be better placed, but being fainter not so easy. Neptune will be up on the 1st at 2am and Uranus at 2:45am, with dawn becoming apparent. Remember, this is high summer when the sky doesn’t get dark anyway, so that, plus the twilight, will not make it easy to see these two, even late in the month when they’ll be rising in the “dark”.
Saturn will continue to be the best placed planet, rising on the 1st at 3:30 in the afternoon, and by the end of the month at 1:30 in the afternoon. It’ll set on the 1st at 2:45am in the west as dawn starts to show in the east. On the 30th it sets ¾ of an hour after midnight.
Venus is too close to the Sun almost all month, but towards the end should be visible an hour before the Sun rises, only because of its brightness of mag –3.9. On the 30th, the very thin crescent Moon will be within a degree of Venus, at about 4am, so would make a good photo if it wasn’t for the fact that it will be so low in the sky. It gets closer with time but the sky gets lighter too.
Mars too will be easier towards the end of the month, but is much fainter, so more difficult. You’re unlikely to see any detail on the disc either, as it’s no more than 4arcsec in diameter.
Mercury is too close to the Sun in the east all month, but can be seen in the west on the 28th, 29 and 30th up to an hour after the Sun has set. Make sure it has set before you use optical aids, though at mag –0.6 it’s bright enough to be seen without.
Meteor Showers
There are 8 showers with peaks in June, but only the Arietids have any substance, with a forecast 54/hour. The peak is on the 7th. Unfortunately, the Radiant is very close to where Mars is. This means that it will rise as dawn does, so watching for this shower will require a wait till the early hours. The Moon however, won’t interfere.
Comets
Several, but all too faint to be seen visually with other than the largest instruments. But we live in hope.
For man-made satellites please check with http://www.heavens-above.com
If you’d like a star chart for an event or for a particular date get in touch with the Observatory on the Contacts page on the website.
