WHAT’S UP? June sky-watching tips from NASA… | Weather Blog

What’s new for June? A planetary break, a privileged view for a well-known star cluster and the constellation of Lyra.

The gathering of four naked-eye planets that we’ve been enjoying in the morning sky for the past few months — including several close conjunctions — is starting to break apart. Over the next few months, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and Venus will appear more and more scattered in the morning sky – so much so that Venus and Saturn will emerge as morning objects for most observers here. september.

Look for this increasingly spaced planetary precession in June and note that the crescent moon jumps into alignment on the morning of the 23rd.

The planets continue to show off in the morning before sunrise in June, with the Moon joining the schedule on the 23rd. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

June is an excellent time to observe one of the best-known globular star clusters – M13, also known as the Hercules cluster. Globular clusters are spherical collections of stars, tightly clustered at their center. M13 itself contains several hundred thousand stars.

Globular clusters are also extremely old. The stars in M13 are thought to be around 12 billion years old, which approximates the age of the universe itself. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is known to have around 150 globular clusters. They orbit outside the galaxy’s disk, traveling tens of thousands of light-years above and below its spiral arms and most of its stars.

Find M13 in Hercules by first locating the stars that form the Keystone, about a third of the way between the bright stars Vega and Arcturus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Now, the Hercules cluster is best viewed with a telescope, and larger telescopes will allow you to see more stars in the cluster. But you can also find it with a pair of binoculars, where it will look like a small misty speck.

Find M13 in the constellation of Hercules, which is high in the east in the first two hours after dark in June.

First look for the bright stars Vega and Arcturus.

Then find the four stars that make up “the keystone”, which is the pattern that makes up the central part of Hercules.

You’ll find M13 about a third of the way between the two stars on the west or front side of the Keystone.

So discover the large globular cluster of Hercules, M13, in June, and find yourself in front of an ancient gathering of stars that hovers above the Milky Way.

Find M13 in Hercules by first locating the stars that form the Keystone, about a third of the way between the bright stars Vega and Arcturus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Now, the Hercules cluster is best viewed with a telescope, and larger telescopes will allow you to see more stars in the cluster. But you can also find it with a pair of binoculars, where it will look like a small misty speck.

Find M13 in the constellation of Hercules, which is high in the east in the first two hours after dark in June.

First look for the bright stars Vega and Arcturus.

Then find the four stars that make up “the keystone”, which is the pattern that makes up the central part of Hercules.

You’ll find M13 about a third of the way between the two stars on the west or front side of the Keystone.

So discover the large globular cluster of Hercules, M13, in June, and find yourself in front of an ancient gathering of stars that hovers above the Milky Way.