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Nightfly Astrophotography
Blog
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Sun, 08 Jun 2008
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June Evenings in Downeast Maine
One of the rites of summer is late night
stargazing. Twilight lasts well into the evening
and stargazing usually can begin by 10 PM. These
are the longest days and therefore the shortest
nights of the year.
To start our evening's observing find open dark
skies, preferably when the Moon is not present.
Using the sky chart locate brilliant orange
Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, the
Herdsman. Arcturus can also be located by using
the handle of the Big Dipper. Find the arc that
is the Dipper's handle, then follow the "arc to
Arcturus". The name of the star means "guardian
of the bear". Indeed, Bootes is positioned next
to the Great Bear, Ursa Major, home of the Big
Dipper.
East of Bootes is the Northern Crown, Corona
Borealis. Its brightest jewel is named Gemma.
Can you guess what its name means? The crown
shape is apparent, but also takes on the shape of
a bowl. Further to the east is legendary
Hercules. Although not bright as Gemma, its
stars form a small "keystone" pattern, or
quadrilateral, representing the hero's body.
Floating above the southeast horizon is the
constellation Scorpius, the scorpion. You will
note its brightest star, brilliant orange
Antares. A supergiant star, Antares is hundreds
of times the size of our Sun!
Late into the evening brilliant white Jupiter can
be seen low in the southeast in the constellation
Sagittarius, the Archer. Good binoculars held
steady can show up to four moons in very close
proximity to the planet. You can see their
position change night to night. Their names are
Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io. Galileo
discovered these "new planets" almost 400 years
ago in a small telescope of his own
construction. Why not try the binoculars to see
how many moons you can find!
Posted 19:50
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