1. Highlighting the Near and Deep Sky
What’s Up E W
Highlighting the Near and Deep Sky
June , 2018 S

2. General Information June 2018
Among June’s celestial happenings:
Summer arrives!
It’s 2018’s best opportunity for viewing our favorite ringed planet!
It’s also a great time to try and spot the brightest of all the asteroids!
Sunset Range: 8:35 PM (June 1st) to 8:44 PM (June 30th).
End of Astronomical Twilight*: 10:25 PM (June 1st) to 10:37 PM (June 30th).
* This is “full darkness” – the sun has reached 18° below the horizon. It’s usually dark enough for observing about a half hour before this.

3. Moon Phases
June 2018
Wed., 6th – Last Quarter (Fri./Sat. observing opportunities June 8th/9th)
Wed., 13th – New Moon (The waxing Moon shines for weekend observing.)
Wed., 20th – First Quarter
Thurs., 28th – Full Moon
Roughly speaking:
First Quarter Moon is highest at sunset and sets at midnight
Full Moon rises at sunset and is in the sky all night
Last (“Third”) Quarter Moon rises at midnight and is highest at dawn
New Moon sets at sunset and is absent from the sky all night

4. Celestial Events Cancer June 2018 June 16th, 10:00 PM
Daylight removed for visibility
Sat., 2nd – Moon at apogee; Earth-radii from Earth. (At apogee again on Friday, the 29th, when Earth-radii from Earth.)
Wed., 13th – Equation of Time is 0 – clocks and solar time briefly in sync.
Thurs., 14th – Moon at perigee; Earth-radii from Earth (11.3% and 11.5% nearer, respectively, than on the 2nd and 29th).
Sat., 16th – Check low in west about 10:00 PM for slender crescent Moon and Venus, with the Beehive Cluster (M44) in between.
Tues., 19th – Vesta, the brightest asteroid, reaches opposition, and at mag. 5.3 could be spotted naked eye from a dark-sky location.
Thurs., 21st – Summer Solstice; longest day of the year. (For astrologers, the Sun enters Cancer, but astronomically it’s entering Gemini.)
Wed./Thurs., 27th/28th – Saturn is at opposition and, with its rings near maximum tilt, shines at mag (Full Moon 1° North on 27th.) 8°
Moon
M44
Venus
Cancer
17°
Willie Leenders, 2005,
media/File:Tijdvereffening-equation_of_time-en.jpg

5. (~30 min. before full darkness) (~30 min. before full darkness)
June 15th, 9:00 p.m.
(~30 min. before full darkness)
June 15th, 10:00 p.m.
(~30 min. before full darkness)
For tonight, Mar. 19th, 8:30 p.m. is about 30 min. before full darkness.
For tonight, May 21st, 9:45 p.m. is about 30 min. before full darkness.
June 19th, 10:00 PM
Moon
Venus
M23
Vesta is the brightest object (mag. 5.3) in the rectangle. E W
Stargazers Online
Saturn
Sabik (η Oph)
Jupiter
Vesta S

6. What’s Up programs are posted on the RVAS Website!
Questions
???
What’s Up programs are posted on the RVAS Website!