By Heather Durham | May 30, 2020
SpaceX demo-2 mission in its the first attempt at sending NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, was postponed due to weather. This mission is the first attempt, using a U.S.-built commercial vehicle to continue this endeavor from America, since 2011.
The mission is scheduled to launch from the historic Kennedy Space Center’s 39A Launch Pad. Two seasoned astronauts are scheduled to travel 19 hours and are scheduled to arrive at the Space Station where they will be living and working for up to 4 months. Below is the link to the NASA YouTube channel where the launch may be watched.
And now let’s see what’s available for sky watching in June.
June 1. M13, Hercules Global Cluster will be high in the sky around midnight. Viewing will be easier with binoculars.
June 2. Mercury will rise to its highest point in the night sky. The Moon will show and appear larger than normal.
June 3. Venus will be in close proximity to the Sun. M12, the globular cluster from Ochiuchus will rise high up in the sky.
June 4. Mercury will be very distant.
June 5. There will be a full Moon out tonight. The globular cluster, M10 – another one from Ochiuchus will rise high in the sky.
June 6. Another globular cluster from Ochiuchus, M62 will ascend very high in the sky around midnight. The Moon will appear distant.
June 8. Both Jupiter and Saturn will rise and closely approach the Moon tonight.
June 10. The Daytime Arietid meteor shower from Aries is expected to show just before dawn. Yet another globular cluster from Hercules, M92 will be high in the sky.
June 12. Mars and Neptune will rise high in the sky together. The Moon and Mars will rise in close proximity to one another.
June 13. This date brings us the last quarter of the Moon.
June 14. The Moon will be orbiting far away from the earth and will appear smaller.
June 15. NGC6388 from Scorpius will be high in the evening sky.
June 16. Again from Scorpius, a butterfly open star cluster will rise high in the evening sky. NGC6397 from Ara, another globular cluster will rise.
June 18. Passing closest to the sun will be Comet C/2019 U6. Yet another Comet A/2019 U6 will closely approach the sun. From Ochiuchus – very prolific this month – comes IC4665, an open star cluster.
June 19. The Moon and Venus will rise together and be in close proximity to one another.
June 20. The longest midsummer day of 2020 … the Solstice. The Ptolemy cluster, M7 from Scorpius will rise and be at its highest point around midnight.
June 21. Today will bring us a new Moon.
June 22. The Moon and Mercury will rise together. The above mentioned comets will shine brightly. NGC6530 from Sagittarius will reach up high in the sky. Mercury will be as far away from the sun as it usually goes.
June 23. NGC6541, a globular cluster from Corona Australis will be at it’s highest point in the sky around midnight.
June 25. Jupiter and Pluto will rise together.
June 27. The June Bootid meteor shower will be prolific.
June 28. This date will bring the first quarter of the Moon. Asteroid 7 Iris from Sagittarius will display on the horizon, but most brightly, near midnight. Once more from Ochiuchus, an open star cluster will shine. This one is known as NGC6633.
June 29. The Moon should appear particularly big and bright this date.
June 30. M22 from Sagittarius will be bright. Mercury will orbit close to the sun.
References:
In-the-Sky.org. (2020, May 30). Guides to the Night Sky. Retrieved from in-the-sky.org
WKMG. (2020, May 30). SpaceX Rocket Launches 2 NASA Astronauts into Space. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFocqVe3NuM
Wikipedia. (2020, May 24). Ophiuchus. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus
Milton Observer 