Nan at Night by Nancy Hoyt
-Thursday the 11th: The little planet Mercury is in its farthest location from the sun currently rising in the early a.m. Watch for it low in the east-northeast at dawn, blazing Venus is high above to the upper right. Five years ago on June, 11, 2004, the Cassini spacecraft began its close investigation of the Saturn system when it navigated less than 1,300 miles from one of the outer moons, Phoebe. Three weeks later it then entered into orbit around Saturn. It completed its primary mission in 2008, and embarked on an extended mission that emphasized studies of the moons Titan and Enceladus where it is still exploring today.
-Friday the 12th: You will find a lovely pairing in the early hours of the morning if you rise early tomorrow. The waning gibbous moon with massive Jupiter to its lower left will be a sight to see.
-Saturday the 13th: Look for the infamous Big Dipper, which is high in the northwest this evening. Now notice the star in the outer corner of the bowl, this is Dubhe. Dubhe is 124 light-years from Earth, therefore the light reaching us tonight left there in 1885. We are in essence seeing into the past when we gaze up at our magnificent night sky…what a history lesson!
-Sunday the 14th: A little known constellation, Sextans, the sextant, might intrigue some of you sailors out there. It is relatively easy to find tonight hanging out below the brilliant star, Regulus, in Leo the lion and the planet Saturn, the “Lord of the Rings.” You still may need a starchart to locate this nautical constellation as its stars are quite faint.
-Monday the 15th: Mars, the red planet, is slowly climbing into view this week early in the morning sky. Look to the east and find blindingly beautiful Venus with Mars, her companion a little to her upper left. The moon is half-lit in its last quarter stage.
-Tuesday the 16th: The Gemini twins are raising their heads, Castor and Pollux, just above the northwestern horizon as twilight descends. Pollux glows with a reddish tone and is the brighter of the two.
-Wednesday the 17th: Star colors are hard to determine, but a treat when realized. Look high above to the constellation Bootes, the herdsman. The second brightest “star” in this grouping is known as Izar, a binary star system. If you have a telescope, note that these stars when studied are indeed hued one toward orange and the other green.
One of the highlights of a soon-to-be-summer mountain sky is the rising of the great span of the Milky Way currently in the eastern sky as twilight falls. As the night progresses, it climbs higher and higher above us, reaching from north to south where it eventually leads us to the very center of our galaxy. During the months of July and August, it will have reached this height, earlier in the evening and will remain so during our peak stargazing hours. The ancients viewed this expanse as a celestial river, usually mirroring a familiar river on Earth. Galileo was able to first discern individual stars within this cloud-like band with his telescope. With modern technology, we have been able to map our Milky Way Galaxy with accuracy and know that we are within a spiral galaxy, spanning more than 100,000 light years and containing several hundred billion stars. What we see above is one of its lovely arms outlined by hot, brilliant stars. Moonless nights are the best time to view this sight and this week would be a good choice as the moon is waning toward New on the 22nd. If possible get out a pair of binoculars or a telescope for a real treat.
