Sun rises at 5:35am.
Sun sets at 6:46pm.
Moon phase: New Moon i.e. virtually absent
This weekend, the moon rises and sets with the sun, making it impossible to see, but fret not! The absence of moonlight makes the stars and planets that much brighter and more beautiful.
Sirius and Procyon
Saturday night as the sun sets, look to the left to spot Sirius, our brightest star. Above you should see another dazzler, Procyon. These two stars follow the sun quickly below the western horizon, especially Sirius which only has about 25 minutes before it drops too low to see.
Saturn, Mars and Antares
Once the sky is fully darkened, turn your attention to the southeast to observe Saturn, Mars and Antares. This triangle of brightness will be hard to miss if the skies are cloud-free. Saturn is at the lower left, Antares is at the lower right, and Mars is above at the peak of the triangle.
Antares is the “heart of the scorpion” nestled within the constellation Scorpio. Many astronomers pick this grouping of stars as their favourite, noting its graceful curve of stars and its proximity to the Milky Way. More about this next week…
The Southern Cross
Looking South, you can see two bright stars low on the horizon, Rigel and Hadar. These stars point to the Southern Cross constellation, which is due south in the early hours of the evening. The Southern Cross, which looks a bit like a kite, will arc across the sky, staying low and setting about 11:30pm. The Southern Cross cannot be seen from North America or Europe, so many of our tourists will be excited to see the famous constellation.
The planet Jupiter continues to be in the zenith position at sunset (that means it’s right overhead). It’s easy to spot Jupiter because it’s so bright – brighter than Sirius or any other “true star.” Jupiter will trace a path to the west, setting about midnight.
The Crescent Moon & Ramadan
Starting at sunset on Sunday, June 5, Muslims around the world will be looking for the new crescent moon, or young crescent to return to the evening sky. Its sighting ushers in the Holy Month of Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic year. This month’s new moon falls on June 5, at 3:00 Universal Time. On June 5, a whisker-thin waxing crescent moon will sit very low in the sky at sunset, to follow the sun beneath the horizon very soon after sundown. Thus the young moon’s sighting – which marks the start of Ramadan – is by no means assured on June 5, but undoubtedly, the young evening crescent will be seen no later than June 6.
Ramadan, the month of fasting from dawn until sunset, continues until the appearance of next month’s young crescent moon.
It seems that the month of Ramadan can start on different dates around the globe, depending upon one’s geographical location. For instance, you have a much better chance of catching the young moon after sunset on June 5 from South America than from most other places worldwide, such as in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
The Islamic calendar is strictly lunar. The lunar month represents the time between successive new crescent moons, a period of time between 29 and 30 days. The lunar year, consisting of 12 lunar months, totals 354 or 355 days. That’s roughly 11 days shorter than the seasonal year on which our Gregorian calendar is based. Because of this difference between lunar and seasonal reckoning, the date of Ramadan comes about 11 days earlier every year. Not a fixture of any particular season, Ramadan backtracks through all 12 calendar months in cycles of 33 years.
But of course you don’t have to be Muslim to look for the first sliver of new moon, Sunday night, immediately after sunset, search the sky and give it a try!
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.
