Wednesday, June 1, 2011

June 2011 Highlights

As with previous months, I am delivering another summary of the great astronomical events you can expect this upcoming month. It definitely feels like Summer here, the Sun doesn't set until nearly 8:30 pm, and the heat has been sweltering this past Memorial Day weekend. All the more reason to spend more of the day at the pool and go out in the cooler evenings to take a look at the stars.

June 1: New Moon: The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth.

June 1: Partial Eclipse of the Sun: The partial eclipse will be visible in most parts eastern Asia, Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, and other high latitude locations in the northern hemisphere. Begins at 19:25, ends at 23:06 UT. (UT stands for Universal Time, equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time)

June 9: First Quarter Moon: The Moon is halfway through the waxing phase, a great time for observing as the shadows provide wonderful contrast.

June 10: Saturn & Moon Conjunction: In the evening sky, you can expect to find Saturn and the Moon near each other.

June 13: Mercury at Superior Conjunction: Mercury swings around the opposite side of the Sun and passes into the evening sky.

June 15: Full Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse: Begins at 19:22 UT and ends at 21:03 UT. Mid-eclipse at 20:13 UT. Partial phases begin at 18:22 UT and end at 22:02 UT. The Moon will appear red-orange in color during totality (the Earth's shadow). Total eclipse visible from eastern South America, Africa, Europe, central Asia, and western Australia. This moon, in the Native American tradition of naming the full moons throughout the year, is known as the Strawberry Moon, because this is the time of year when strawberries are naturally in season.

June 21: June (Summer) Solstice: Summer is definitely here for the northern hemisphere! In the southern hemisphere, it is Winter. The Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun reaches the point farthest north of the equator (the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude) marking the start of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. It is also the longest day of the year for the north, while the shortest for the south.

June 23: Last Quarter Moon: Halfway through the Moon's waning phase, The next New Moon will be July 1st.

I'm going to be enjoying my long, warm June days. And you guys in the south keep warm, you'll be rubbing it in our faces come December. Have a great month everyone!


20 comments:

Zombie said...

Looking forward to the new moon! :D

Jay said...

summer is here!

JayPower said...

Awesome review, cant wait for july first ;D

The Angry Lurker said...

June 15 sounds good.

Malkavian said...

June 21st im hoping to see many hot chicks this summer

HOODPHENOMENOM said...

Can't wait for June 15 !

Unknown said...

Hooray for summer!

Solsby Kid said...

Bring on June 15!

phthalo. said...

Nice little run down. There's something similar to this in the newsletter of the astronomical society I'm a member of.

Dave said...

Lots of great very usefull information cheers.

BigMike said...

We never get the eclipses here in the SE USA

Melanie said...

YAY! Looking forward to everything!

ed said...

cool, time to turn into a werewolf

T. Banacek said...

I can't wait for summer solstice when all the hippies come out to dance around.

RedHeadRob said...

Excited to get out the telescope throughout the month now :D

Atley said...

I hate the cold. can't wait for summer. Your post makes me sad though.

Drivebot said...

cool! maybe i'll see an eclipse today! or close to an eclypse, being in eastern canada

Kicking Rocks said...

they all seem interesting!

Anonymous said...

love the blog mmmm

Anonymous said...

I love the Summer Solstice! :)

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