Sun rises at 5:37am
Sun sets at 6:50pm
Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous, almost Full
Moon rises at 5:24pm
Moon sets at 4:09am
The Moon & Saturn
This weekend, our moon will be almost full – what we call gibbous. It will rise above the eastern horizon early in the evening, accompanied closely by the planet Saturn. You might have difficulty seeing Saturn in the glare of the brilliant and large moon. Here is a simple trick: just close one eye and hold out your arm, then place your finger in front of the moon to spot the nearby planet of Saturn. This trick also works if you have a bright street lamp shining in your eyes when you want to see the stars.
The red planet, Mars, will be much easier to spot because it shines five times as brilliantly as Saturn and, moreover, lies farther from the moon on the sky’s dome. The third bright object near Saturday night’s moon is the star Antares. The Moon, Saturn and Antares form a line; Mars is off to the right of this line. Both Mars and Antares appear to be orange-red in colour compared to other stars in the night sky.
Preceding this bright grouping is the planet Jupiter. This diamond in the sky hangs high in the South-Southwest at sunset and is easily noticeable by its brightness. Jupiter will arc across the western half of the sky throughout the evening, setting about 11:15pm.
Early Morning
As Saturn and the Moon begin to sink towards the west, around 3:30am, let your eyes drift from the Moon north past the constellations of Ophiucus the Snake-handler, Hercules, and Draco the dragon. Due north at this hour, one can see the Little Dipper, whose tail is the north star, Polaris. A bit above and to the right, note the “sideways W” shape of Cassiopeia, the queen on her throne.
Monday’s Solstice Moon
This year, the Summer solstice falls on a full moon night.Although the full moon and solstice happen at the same instant all around the world, the clock reading differs by time zone. This is the first full moon on the solstice since 1948!
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. Comments and feedback are always welcome. 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. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
