~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for June 2 & 3 ~
Sun rises at 5:36am
Sun sets at 6:45pm
Moon phase: third quarter, waning gibbous
Moon rises at 10:10pm
Moon sets at 8:50am
Just before daybreak this morning, you might have seen the moon positioned directly between and equally distant from two planets: Saturn to the west of the moon, and Mars to the east of the moon. Saturn is currently just above the teapot-shaped constellation Sagittarius. Mars is currently near the constellation Capricorn, the Goat, which looks to our eyes like two downward pointing triangles.
Because the moon moves eastward at the rate of about 1/2 degree (one full-moon-width) per hour, or about 13 degrees per day, you should easily notice that the moon changes its position from day to day. It’ll move over as the earth and the moon dance around each other and before daybreak tomorrow, June 3, the moon will be snuggled up close to Mars.
The planets move too, of course, but at a much slower progression. For instance, Jupiter has been positioned inside the constellation Libra for months now. It is slowly exiting that star shape, but will continue to reside there for months to come. Saturn will remain in front of Sagittarius for the rest of this year, and Mars will stay in front of Capricornus until November. Because these planets are bright and beautiful in our sky for many months to come, you can use these them to locate the otherwise dim and obscure constellations of the zodiac.
If you’re a night owl, staying up past the midnight hour tonight, you could catch all three planets and the waxing gibbous moon above the southern horizon. The predawn hours present a better view of the moon, Saturn and Mars, at which time all these worlds will shine higher in the sky, but Jupiter will have dipped below the western horizon by about 3:45am.
There are a couple ways to distinguish Saturn from Mars. Saturn appears golden in colour while Mars exhibits a reddish hue. Surprisingly, Mars is currently the brighter planet, and it will remain so for the rest of this year.
Get out the telescope – even a pair of good binoculars will allow you to see Saturn’s glorious rings which Mars lacks. You may detect Mar’s white polar ice cap and other surface features with a good telescope.
In the relatively near future, Saturn and Mars will be basking in their moment of glory. Saturn will reach opposition on June 27, to shine at its brightest best for the year and to stay out all night long. Mars will reach opposition one month later, on July 27, to make its brightest appearance in our sky since the year 2003. Opposition means the planet and the sun are on opposite sides of the earth. So the result is that we are seeing the fully lit side of the planet, as we do when the moon is in opposition each month when we say it is “full”.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
