MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - June 10th to June 16th
We are proud to present you with another edition of Marshall's night sky events this week! Welcome, we hope you find something of interest! Let us know in the replies if you did, we would love to hear from you about it! We have also added a look back at events this week in history, hope you enjoy it.
Let's get started by examining the highlights of the night sky this week, June 10th to the 16th. As usual we will list the highlights and discuss a few. We hope you find this info useful and if you have anything you wish to discuss or add, please hit the "Reply" button below and let us know!
Information is freely gathered from various websites. We would encourage you to download and print your finder charts more specific to your location, the charts/graphics included are for basic guidance only. Many websites like Skymaps.com will allow you to download and print out a free planisphere for each month, the link is here: https://www.skymaps.com/.
EVENTS
10th June
11th June
12th June
13th June
- Minor Planet (3) Juno is 0.5° South of the Moon. (Occultation in Australasia)
14th June
- First quarter Moon at 05:18 UT.
- Moon at apogee (404076km) at 14:00 UT.
- Lunar X and V at 03:49 UT
- Mercury is at Superior Conjunction.
15th June
16th June
- Spica is 1.2° South of the Moon. (Occultation in Northern Europe)
PLANETS
Mercury is lost in the glare of the morning Sun this week.
Venus is lost in the glare of the morning Sun all this month.
Mars is in the morning sky, in the constellation of Aries.
Jupiter moves out of Solar conjunction at the beginning of the month, becoming visible later in the month among the early morning constellation of Taurus.
Saturn is in pre dawn skies at magnitude 1.1, as its ring system continues its closure, in the constellation of Aquarius.
Uranus begins to emerge from behind the Sun, in the constellation of Taurus.
Neptune, in the constellation of Pisces, is very challenging in the pre dawn twilight.
COMETS
12P/Pons-Brooks
Magnitude: 7.1 Fading
Coma Diameter: 6.7' Tail Length: 0.6°
RA: 06h 11m 13s Decl: -22° 42’ 21” in Lepus
https://theskylive.com/12p-info
13P/Olbers
Magnitude: 7.7 Brightening
Coma Diameter: 3.0' Tail Length: n/a
RA: 06h 37m 11s Decl: +38° 53’ 05” in Auriga
https://theskylive.com/13p-info
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Magnitude: 10.2 Brightening
Coma Diameter: 1.5' Tail Length: n/a
RA: 11h 51m 22s Decl: +02° 50’ 55” in Virgo
https://theskylive.com/c2023a3-info
C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz)
Magnitude: 10.9 Steady
Coma Diameter: n/a Tail Length: n/a
RA: 05h 39m 02s Decl: +52° 18’ 51” in Auriga
https://theskylive.com/c2023v4-info
STARS
Zeta Herculis - An unequal binary pair with a highly eccentric 35 year orbit. Currently at maximum separation. Zeta Herculis is the star at the bottom right of the Hercules keystone asterism. And for a bonus point, can you spot the Minor Planet Pallas passing by to the south of Zeta Herculis? It will be at opposition on the 19th June.
Sirius - Have you ever tried for Sirius B? Sirius A and B are now at their widest apparent separation in their 50-year orbit, 11 arcseconds apart, and will remain so for the next couple years before they start closing up again.
T Coronae Borealis - A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova outburst only occurs about every 80 years. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again between February and September 2024. Once in a lifetime event! Plan ahead just in case! Full article here. The TSS TCrB Citizen Science Thread is here.
SPACE LAUNCHES
Soyuz • Kondor-FKA 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 1S, Vostochny Cosmodrome
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Kondor-Experimental SAR Spacecraft FKA 2 (Kondor-FKA 2) satellite to sun-synchronous orbit at 510 km altitude and an inclination of 97.4°. The mission, with a roughly five-year live span, is being launched on behalf of NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
10th June -
11th June -
12th June -
Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-2
Launch time: Window 5:08 - 9:36 p.m. EDT (2108-0136 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on a droneship out in the Atlantic Ocean.
13th June -
14th June -
15th June -
16th June -
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
We highly recommend using "Spot the Station" from NASA to find out when the International Space station will be passing over your location. This is a fun object to see flying high above, try using binoculars here, lots of fun!
For the HAM radio enthusiasts among you, please keep a eye on the ARISS website for upcoming contacts or SSTV broadcasts for when the International Space Station is within range. There are several HAMS on board the ISS, they should have a busy radio schedule coming up. AMSAT are another great resource in this regard.
This video is from the ISS live feed on YouTube. Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
10th June -
48 years ago, in 1976, MARISAT F2, the second of three maritime telecommunications satellites for commercial shipping and the U.S. Navy, is launched.
21 years ago, in 2003, the Mars Rover "Spirit" is launched.
20 years ago, in 2004, Saturn's moon Phoebe becomes the first moon flyby of the Cassini probe.
15 years ago, in 2009, after a successful mission, Japan's second lunar orbiter, SELENE (Kaguya), is deliberately crashed into the moon .
6 years ago, in 2018, the Opportunity rover falls silent as a planet-wide dust storm encircles Mars.
11th June -
76 years ago, in 1948, the first primate astronaut, a rhesus macaque named Albert, is launched aboard a U.S. launched V-2, but dies of suffocation in flight.
39 years ago, in 1985, the Soviet Vega 1 probe lander touches down successfully on Venus; the balloon travels 11,600 km (7200 miles).
16 years ago, in 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST) is launched.
11 years ago, in 2013, Shenzhou 10, the final mission to Tiangong-1, is launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket.
12th June -
205 years ago, in 1819, Jean Louis Pons is the first 'discoverer' of comet 7P/Pons–Winnecke.
62 years ago, in 1962, an Aerobee 150 rocket is launched with an X-ray detector, and finds the first extra-solar X-ray source, Scorpius X-1.
61 years ago, in 1963, Project Mercury, America's first manned space flight program, comes to a close after 4 years, 8 months, and 1 week.
57 years ago, in 1967, Venera 4 is launched for Venus.
13th June -
41 years ago, in 1983, Pioneer 10 crosses the orbit of Neptune.
39 years ago, in 1985, the Soviet Vega 2 probe releases its balloon and lander for descent on Venus, then continues on to Halley's Comet.
14 years ago, in 2010, the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft releases its sample from asteroid Itokawa before burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
12 years ago, in 2012, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is launched to study the universe in high energy X-rays.
11 years ago, in 2013, Shenzhou 10 successfully docks with Tiangong-1.
14th June -
254 years ago, in 1770, Charles Messier discovers Comet D/1770 L1, also known as Lexell's Comet after its orbit computer, Anders Lexell.
75 years ago, in 1949, Albert II becomes the first monkey in space aboard a U.S. launched V-2, but dies on impact after the parachute fails.
61 years ago, in 1963, Vostok 5 is launched into orbit to meet up with Vostok 6.
57 years ago, in 1967, Mariner 5 is launched to Venus.
49 years ago, in 1975, Venera 10 is launched for Venus.
31 years ago, in 1993, the Japanese probe Sakigake makes its second Earth swingby.
7 years ago, in 2017, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT, Insight), a Chinese X-ray space observatory, is launched.
15th June -
64 years ago, in 1960, communication is lost with Tiros 1.
39 years ago, in 1985, the Soviet Vega 2 probe lander touches down successfully on Venus; the balloon travels 11,100 km (7200 miles).
14 years ago, in 2010, the French PICARD Solar Satellite is launched from Dombarovskiy Cosmodrome, Russia, to study the Sun.
16th June -
218 years ago, in 1806, Jose Joaquin de Ferrer (Spain), observing at Kinderhook, New York, gives the name corona to the glow of the faint outer atmosphere of the Sun seen during a total eclipse.
61 years ago, in 1963, aboard Vostok 6, Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space, orbiting Earth 48 times.
35 years ago, in 1989, Neptune's second largest moon, Proteus, is discovered by Voyager 2.
12 years ago, in 2012, Shenzhou 9 is launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket to dock with Tiangong-1, and carries the first Chinese female astronaut, Liu Yang.
And that is it for the upcoming week. We hope you can all get out and do some observing, sketching and imaging.
Clear skies!
The TSS Team.
